Illinois Court Rejects Jussie Smollett's Petition To Drop Charges
The Supreme Court of Illinois on Friday refused to dismiss the charges of disorderly conduct against Hollywood actor Jussie Smollett for staging a racist, homophobic attack against himself, according to an article by Breitbart.
The court also rejected his effort to remove the special prosecutor in the case.
In an emergency petition, Tina Glandian, the lawyer of the former "Empire" actor, questioned the integrity of the investigation and argued that Cook County Circuit Judge Michael Toomin overstepped his authority and manipulated the law when he ordered the appointment of a special prosecutor.
There was no explanation from the court about their rejection of the arguments placed by Smollett's lawyers.
The 37-year old actor was initially accused by Cook County prosecutors of falsely reporting to police of the alleged phony attack.
Smollett pleaded not guilty in the Illinois Supreme Court to stop the case late last year.
Toomin dismissed the sixteen counts of disorderly conduct originally filed against him and found Smollett's first prosecution was invalid.
However, when special prosecutor Dan Webb holds another investigation, six counts of the same charges we filed against Smollett. In a published article from the Associated Press, the actor was reportedly indicted for the second time because he lied to the police about the racist and anti-gay attack that he allegedly staged on himself in Chicago last year.
The actor pleaded not guilty to the charges last week.
It can be recalled that Smollett, who is black and gay, told police that two masked men attacked him as he was walking home in the morning of Jan. 29, 2019.
He claimed they made racist and homophobic insults, beat him and coiled a noose around his neck before running away.
Smollet also insisted that at least one of his attackers was a white man who lashed out he was in "MAGA country," referring to President Donald Trump's campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again."
Also read: Jussie Smollett Pleads Not Guilty Over Alleged Fake Hate Crime Attack
Weeks later, police accused Smollett had paid two black friends to help stage the attack because he was allegedly unhappy with his salary as an actor on the Fox series, "Empire," filmed in Chicago about a black family who navigate the ups and downs of the recording industry.
The friends were identified as brothers Abimbola "Abel" Osundairo and Olabinjo "Ola" Osundairo, bodybuilders and aspiring actors whom Smollett met at the "Empire" set and the gym.
According to Breitbart, the brothers would become the state's star witnesses once Smollett's case makes it to trial.
According to an article by BBC, Jussie Smollett has been suspended from "Empire" since February 22, 2019.
The TV show's executive producers released a statement saying the actor would not appear in the in the final two episodes of the series' 4th season and that the allegations against him are "disturbing".
Meanwhile, Lee Daniels, the creator of "Empire", broke his silence in March and spoke about the "pain and anger and sadness and frustration" he and his cast have experienced due to the incident.
In an Instagram video, he added that he and his team "really don't know how to deal with it."
He said that the series "was made to bring America together" and to "talk about the atrocities that are happening right now in the streets."
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