The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday overturned Jussie Smollett’s conviction on charges of filing a false police report claiming that he had been the victim of a racist and homophobic attack in 2019, finding that he was unjustly prosecuted a second time after his charges had been resolved as part of a negotiated agreement.
When Mr. Smollett first reported the attack, he claimed that two men had mildly injured him while yelling racist and homophobic slurs, with one of them yelling, “This is MAGA country.” The apparently bigoted attack against a Black and gay actor sparked outrage.
But law-enforcement officials later determined that Mr. Smollett had orchestrated the attack himself, and charged him with a crime.
The prosecutors then agreed to drop the charges against Mr. Smollett in exchange for his agreement to forfeit his $10,000 bond and perform community service.
But after an outcry the case was revived by a special prosecutor, and Mr. Smollett was convicted of felony disorderly conduct for falsely reporting to the police that he had been the victim of a bigoted attack.
Persons:
Jussie, —, Chicago —, Smollett
Locations:
Chicago, MAGA