Jussie Smollett has been found guilty of orchestrating and reporting a fake hate crime on himself.
The actor was convicted on five of six counts of felony disorderly conduct after making false reports to police, claiming he was a victim of a hate crime in Jan. 2019. Prior to and during his trial, Smollett maintained his innocence and denied lying to the police.
Prosecutors had claimed Smollett paid Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo to carry out the staged attack in order to gain sympathetic media coverage. It was also revealed during the trial that the Empire star had been intimate with Abimbola and that the two "did weed and cocaine together."
A disorderly conduct charge for a false crime report is a Class 4 felony and punishable by up to three years in prison and a $25,000 fine. When Smollett is sentenced at a later date, the judge will decide whether to have the sentences run concurrently or consecutively.
Source: CNN
