Jussie Smollett has been found guilty on 5 out of 6 charges in the alleged hate crime hoax trial.
After a contentious week of witness testimony, counsel arguments and deliberation, the jury found Smollett guilty on the first five counts and he was acquitted on a sixth count, of lying to a detective in mid-February, weeks after Smollett said he was attacked.
Smollett was stoic as the jury read the verdict. The actor sat upright and stared straight ahead without showing any real emotion.
A post-trial hearing is scheduled for Jan. 27 and Judge James Linn said he would schedule Smollett’s sentencing at a later date.
Outside the courthouse, special prosecutor Dan Webb called the verdict “a resounding message by the jury that Mr. Smollett did exactly what we said he did.”
In January 2019, Smollett, then a star of Fox’s Empire, told Chicago police he was assaulted late at night by two men yelling racist and homophobic slurs who wore pro-Donald Trump apparel and left him with a noose around his neck.
But later investigations purportedly showed that Smollett staged the attack with the help of brothers Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo, who appeared as extras on Empire and claim that Smollett paid them $3,500 for their involvement.
Smollett testified Monday that the hate crime he reported was “no hoax.” Cameras have not been allowed in the courtroom during Smollett’s trial.
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