Jussie Smollett trial: Actor found guilty of staging fake hate crime

The jury found actor Jussie Smollett guilty of five of the six felony disorderly conduct counts he faced, one for each time he was accused of lying to police.

Actor Jussie Smollett, the one-time star of the TV drama “Empire,” was found guilty on Thursday of staging a hate crime against himself in what prosecutors said was a bid to gain sympathy and bolster his career.

Prosecutors said Smollett, who is Black and openly gay, lied to police when he told them that he was accosted on a dark Chicago street by two masked strangers in January 2019.

The Cook County Circuit Court jury, which deliberated for nine hours, found Smollett guilty of five of the six felony disorderly conduct counts he faced, one for each time he was accused of lying to police.

Each felony count carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison.

“While it’s certainly possible that he could receive a sentence involving prison time, the much more likely scenario is that he would receive probation with some amount of community service,” former Cook County Prosecutor Eryk Wachnik told Reuters.

Cook County Judge James Linn did not set a date for sentencing, but scheduled a presentencing hearing for Jan. 27.

Smollett said the men threw a noose around his neck and poured chemicals on him while yelling racist and homophobic slurs and expressions of support for former President Donald Trump.

Police arrested Smollett a month after the alleged assault, saying that he paid two brothers $3,500 to stage the attack in an effort to raise his show-business profile. He eventually pleaded not guilty to six counts of felony disorderly conduct.