Update 12/10/2021 10:04am:
News surfaced noting Jussie Smollett was found guilty of orchestrating and reporting a fake hate crime on himself. The ‘Empire’ actor was convicted on five out of six counts of felony disorderly conduct. Now, lawyers for the actor are saying Smollett will appeal the verdict.
The defense attorney for Smollett—Nenye Uche said the actor is disappointed and went on to say he is “100% innocent.” Along with that, the team feels “he’s going to be cleared of all, all accusations on all charges.” As of now, Smollett has a post-trial hearing for January 27, and sentencing for the actor will be scheduled for a later time.
source: CBS Chicago
Original 12/09/2021 6:54pm:
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
