The « Empire » actor was found guilty on five counts of disorderly conduct but the jury acquitted him on one count.
Jussie Smollett was convicted Thursday of staging a hate crime against himself and lying about it to Chicago police. Smollett had no reaction when the verdicts were read in Cook County Judge James Linn’s courtroom. The “Empire” actor stood as the jury entered and until the verdict was fully read, his hands clasped in front of him. The jury, made up of six women and six men, only one of whom was Black, needed more than nine hours to reach its verdict after a trial that spanned seven days. Smollett,39, was charged with six counts of disorderly conduct for hiring a confidant and his brother to assault him on a frigid night in January 2019, scripting even the racial slurs and “MAGA” slogan they were to shout as they attacked. He was found guilty on five counts but acquitted on one count. A few of Smollett’s family members shook their heads slightly when the verdict was read. Linn thanked the jury for their service. “You were the people chosen by both sides to give a fair trial,” Linn told the jurors. “There is nothing more difficult that American society asks [of] fellow citizens than to judge a fellow citizen… not only is it difficult it is something that will stay with you awhile.
