The prosecution argued that the actor of “Empire” series had engineered a racist and homophobic attacks in 2019 to advance his career. He faces three years in prison.
Le Monde with AFP
US actor Jussie Smollett was convicted, Thursday, December 9, a court in Chicago, having staged in 2019 racist and homophobic attack which he said he was a victim and that caused a wave of indignation at the time in the United States.
The actor aged 39, African American and gay, was accused of having “planned” false aggression by paying 3500 dollars (about 3,000 euros) to two Nigerian brothers and have lied repeatedly to the police in his testimony. The penalty shall be made later. He faces three years in prison, but could be sentenced only to community work.
According to US media, the lawyer of Mr. Smollett, Nenye Uche, announced that the actor would appeal. “The verdict is incoherent,” said he said. “We are 100% confident that we will win this case on appeal,” he said during a press conference after the verdict.
“It was not a hoax “
Featured fallen from the television series Empire successfully Jussie Smollett pleaded not guilty. He always made sure he was attacked in the night January 29, 2019 in a street in the metropolis of the north of the United States by two masked men claiming to be supporters of President Donald Trump. They beat him uttering racist and homophobic insults and would put a noose around his neck.
“It was not a hoax,” he he said Monday during a highly anticipated testimony, denying “100%” the charges. According to his lawyers, Jussie Smollett was assaulted by Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, two brothers met on the filming Empire, who were motivated by money and which one was homophobic.
The actor explained that 3500 dollars had to pay a training and nutrition program developed by Abimbola, who had then tried unsuccessfully to get hired as a bodyguard.
But the prosecution has engineered comedian attack to advance his career and because he criticized the production studios for not having responded after receiving a letter and a phone call threats.
The two brothers, who were not prosecuted, were delivered last week overwhelming evidence against the actor. According Abimbola Osundairo, actor “spoke studios who were not taking the threatening letter seriously.”
Exploit “pain”
“He told me he wanted me to hit, and I was supposed to hit him but not too strong,” said the boxer, who fights at the national level among enthusiasts. He agreed because he felt indebted vis-à-vis the actor, who had helped him to get a small role in the series. He also denied having an affair with Jussie Smollett. Olabinjo Osundairo for his detailed hand how the actor told him what utter insults.
The case caused a shock in a country still heavily marked by racial and sexual discrimination. Jussie Smollett had immediately received the support of many cultural figures and political, including the US vice-president Kamala Harris, Senator of California at the time, who called the event “Modern attempted lynching.”
The images remote monitoring, examination of telephone data of the three men and videos were however quickly cast doubt among investigators, who concluded a staging. “False complaints are causing real damage”, said Eddie Johnson, then head of the Chicago police, accusing Mr. Smollett have “exploited the pain and anger from racism.”
The two brothers had flown to Nigeria after the assault. They were arrested on their return to Chicago in mid-February.
Jussie Smollett himself had been charged with false filing a complaint, but the charges were suddenly dropped in March 2019, in exchange for 10,000 dollars and two days of community service. He was again indicted in February 2020 for his alleged role in the attack.