Empire actor and singer, Jussie Smolette was sentenced to 150 days jail time, 30 months of probation to follow, and fined $120,000 for lying to police, and staging a hate crime. Chicago Judge – James Linn harshly chastised the thirty-nine year old prior to issuing a sentence. Smolette and his family are outraged by the punishment and contend that Jussie was ‘attacked’ and is a victim of racial injustice of the law which was overruled in the court on March 10th, 2020.
The three-year old viral case came at the height of the 2020 Biden and Trump presidential campaign which centered heavily on the racial divide and tension between black and white Americans. On Jan.29th 2019 Jussie reported a hate crime where he alleged he was punched in the face, had an unknown chemical substance poured on him and a noose rope wrapped around his neck from his attackers whom he described as white trump supporters who left a note with a MAGA inscription.
The incident allegedly occurred around 2:00am as Jussie was making his way back to his hotel after picking up a subway sandwich in his affluent Chicago neighborhood.
The incident garnered national news attention and family and celebrity friends of the star spoke out and showed solidarity for the star including Vice President Kamala Harris, Michelle Obama, Viola Davis, Empire co-star Taraji P. Hensen, Empire movie producer Lee Daniels, Steve Harvey, Naomi Campbell, TI and more.
However things took a swift turn after video surveillance was captured showing two black men a few moments before the alleged attack. The two men were Nigerian born; Obabinjo (Ola) and his brother Abimbola (Abel) Osundairo. On Feb 14th, 2019 the two men went from a person of interest to suspects in the case.
Things seem to be looking upward for the empire actor although the case drew a wide range of online critique and suspense as new details emerge. One highlighted detail was Smolette’s relationship with one of the suspects who claims he was a close friend of the star and told police in his initial arrest that he was coerced by the actor to participate in the stage crime.
Abel contended that he and his brother was given $3,500 for their role. Smolette initially told police that two white men followed him, made racial and homophobic slurs at him before the brutal attack began. Jussie reclaimed his innocence and said the money given to (Abel) was for training for his upcoming music video. Another key evidence was Smolette’s refusal to submit his phone records to police at the time of the crime to verify his recent locations, calls, and messages to corroborate his story.
In March of 2019 Jussie Smolette had charges dropped against him but Mayor Rahm Emanuel and local prosecutors of Cook County including police superintendent Eddie Johnson were angry by the decision and said Smolette wasted police work hours in a ‘hoax crime’ and new charges are brought against the actor/singer.
The trial was stalled due to covid, and in December of 2021, Smolette was found guilty of five charges. Recently on March 10th 2022 the empire star was given his sentencing which includes five months to be served in Chicago’s Cook County Jail. Smolette’s attorney is appealing his jail sentence asking for a bond relief for the star in fear that he could be harmed like Sandra Bland. Smolette’s family calls the punishment unjust and racially bias in comparison with white Americans who are found guilty of similar crimes.