Former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett was convicted Thursday on charges he staged an anti-gay, hate crime on himself nearly three years ago and then lied to Chicago police about it.
The former “Empire” actor was accused of falsely reporting that he was the victim of a hate crime that took place in January 2019.
The decision came after nearly 10 hours of deliberation spread across two days from a panel of six men and six women.
These charges are class four felonies and could result in up to three years of prison time. Given Smollett’s lack of a criminal history, it is unclear if he will be sentenced to any time in prison.
During the trial, Smollett, who is gay and black, testified that he had been attacked by two masked men while walking home around 2 a.m. The actor said the men beat him, shouted racist and homophobic comments, poured a chemical substance on him, looped a rope around his neck and then fled.
Two brothers, Ola and Abel Osundairo, were arrested in February 2019 for allegedly being connected to the attack. The Osundairos told police that Smollett wrote them a check for $3,500 to carry out the purported attack.
Smollett contested that the $3,500 check was given to the brothers for meal and workout plans. His attorneys alleged that the brothers made up the story about the attack being staged and said they would not testify against Smollett if they were paid $1 million each.
Special prosecutor Dan Webb told the jury that Smollett caused the Chicago police to spend enormous resources investigating a crime that they believe to have been faked.
Featured Image Credit: REUTERS/Kamil Krzaczynski
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