Jury Finds Actor Jussie Smollett Guilty On Five Felony Charges

CHICAGO — A jury on Thursday found former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett guilty on charges he staged an anti-gay, racist attack on himself nearly three years ago and then lied to Chicago police about it.

Smollett was found guilty on five of six felony counts of disorderly conduct for making false reports to police, CNN reported.

Smollett faces up to three years in prison and a $25,000 fine.

The jury deliberated about eight hours Wednesday and Thursday after a roughly one-week trial in which two brothers testified that Smollett recruited them to fake the attack near his home in downtown Chicago in January 2019. They said Smollett orchestrated the hoax, telling them to put a noose around his neck and rough him up in view of a surveillance camera, and that he said he wanted video of the hoax made public via social media.

Smollett testified that he was the victim of a real hate crime, telling jurors “there was no hoax.” He called the brothers “liars” and said the $3,500 check he wrote them was for meal and workout plans. His attorneys argued that the brothers attacked the actor — who is gay and Black — because they are homophobic and didn’t like “who he was.” They also alleged the brothers made up the story about the attack being staged to get money from Smollett, and that they said they wouldn’t testify against him if Smollett paid them each $1 million.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.