For inventing a bogus hate crime nearly three years ago, a jury in Cook County, Illinois, convicted actor Jussie Smollett guilty of felony disorderly conduct.
Prosecutors claim Smollett hired two men to assault him in downtown Chicago, tying a noose around his neck and dousing him with bleach while hurling racial and homophobic slurs — and that Smollett repeatedly lied to police about the crime.
The conviction was revealed on Thursday, only days after Smollett testified before the jury, saying, "There was no hoax."
Smollett was found guilty on five of the six counts he faced, all of which were linked to a false report he gave on the day of the assault after jurors debated for a little more than nine hours over two days. On one count of making a false report to police at a later date, he was acquitted.
Smollett may face up to three years in jail if he is convicted.
At a news conference following the jury's decision, special prosecutor Dan Webb said, "That verdict was a resounding statement by the jury that, in fact, Mr. Smollett did precisely what we alleged he did."
Smollett, 39, now faces a maximum sentence of three years in jail. There has yet to be a sentencing hearing.
The evidence of two brothers, who said that Smollett hired them to carry out the assault in January 2019, stating the actor paid them $3,500 and gave them $100 for costs, was central to the prosecution's case.
Prosecutors think Smollett planned the incident in order to attract attention for himself. The two bodybuilder brothers who claimed Smollett hired them said they believed the actor and singer would exploit the incident to gain media attention rather than file a hate crime report with the police.
Smollett said that he did send Abimbola Osundairo a $3,500 check, but that it was for nutrition and training, not for staging a crime.
According to their lawyer, the two brothers feel vindicated.
Gloria Rodriguez, an attorney representing the Osundairo brothers, told reporters that the conviction vindicates her clients, whose identities have been "dragged through the dirt" for the past three years.
Outside the courthouse, she remarked, "It doesn't feel good when it's on a national and worldwide stage."
"We're not even there," she said when asked if either or both brothers want to take legal action against Smollett.
"That's an issue for another day," Rodriguez said, adding that the case has left her and her clients fatigued.
The case will be appealed by Smollett.
Nene Uche, Smollett's attorney, affirmed the actor's intention to appeal the ruling.
"We're plainly dissatisfied. "Of course, we respectfully disagree with the jury's judgment," he stated, calling it "inconsistent." "on Thursday night during a press conference
"You can't say Jussie is lying and then say he isn't for the same occurrence. As a result, we are quite certain that this case will be won ""It's an appeal," Uche stated.
The trial has been marred by contradictions and controversy from the start, necessitating Webb's appointment as a special prosecutor when Cook County State Attorney Kim Foxx recused herself from the case in 2019.
Even that step, which was supposed to prevent "even the appearance of a dispute," was befuddling. Because she had communicated with one of Smollett's relatives, Foxx first recused herself and placed the matter in the hands of one of her deputies. A Chicago court eventually determined that Foxx had not followed the correct protocol in resigning from her position, and Webb was tasked with determining whether the matter should be prosecuted.
In a statement released on Thursday, Foxx said her office is ready to move on after learning of the judgment.
"While this case has gotten a lot of attention, we at the Cook County State's Attorney's Office wish to move on as a county," Foxx stated. We'll keep focusing on our office's critical task of prioritizing and prosecuting violent crime."