Jussie Smollett To Serve 150-Day Sentence In Protective Custody

CHICAGO — Former "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett will serve his Cook County jail sentence in protective custody, court records show.

Judge James Linn sentenced Smollett to 150 days in jail, 30 months' probation and to pay the city of Chicago more than $120,000 in restitution and a $25,000 fine.

Linn's order specified that the 39-year-old actor, who was convicted on five counts of disorderly conduct for orchestrating a fake hate crime against himself and lying to police about it, serve jail time in "protective custody by Mr. Smollett's request and this court's recommendation."

With good behavior, Smollett could be released after 75 days in jail, a court spokeswoman said.

Smollett declined to make a statement prior to be sentenced, but spoke out immediately after Judge Linn sentenced him to jail. "I am not suicidal," he said.

As sheriff's deputies escorted Smollett out of the courtroom, he declared his innocence.

"If I did this, then it means that I stuck my fist in the fears of Black Americans in this country for over 400 years and the fears of the LGBT community. Your Honor, I respect you and I respect the jury but I did not do this. And I am not suicidal. And if anything happens to me when I go in there, I did not do it to myself. And you must all know that," he said.