Organized fake self-attack: actor Smollett goes to prison

Organized fake self attack
Actor Smollett goes to prison

3/11/2022 3:29 AM

American actress Jussie Smollett, famous from the series “Empire”, was sentenced to nearly five months in prison. A Chicago judge imposed a prison sentence for disturbing public order. The 39-year-old is said to have attacked himself.

American actor Jussie Smollett has been sentenced to nearly five months in prison for committing a self-directed attack. A judge in Chicago sentenced the 39-year-old to prison for disturbing public order. “You were looking for attention, you wanted to be more famous,” Judge James Lane said in sentencing.

In December, a jury found the well-known actor from the TV series “Empire” guilty of five out of six counts. The jury found that it was established that the black and gay actor allegedly attacked him in a racist and anti-gay manner and lied to the police.

Judge Lynn Smollett described him as “arrogant, selfish and narcissistic.” He said that “by his actions he harmed the real victims of racist crimes.” On the other hand, Smollett insisted that he was the victim of false accusations. “I didn’t do it, I’m innocent,” he said after the verdict was announced. Then he left the courtroom and raised his fist.

In addition to 150 days in prison, the judge sentenced Smollett to 30 months in prison. In addition, the actor has to pay a good sum of $120,000 (€110, 000) to partially reimburse the costs of the police investigation.

A rope around your neck?

The twisted case caused an uproar in the United States and internationally. Smollett reported in January 2019 that he was attacked and humiliated by two masked men on a Chicago street at night. The attackers put a rope around his neck and shouted that Chicago is “MAGA country” – a reference to then-US President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again”.

The alleged attack caused panic at first, but soon doubts were raised about Smollett’s portrayal. According to the police, the actor is said to have tasked two of his acquaintances with the phantom attack. He is said to have hoped to gain career advantages from his role as a victim.

Investigators tracked down Smollett through security camera footage and cell phone data from the actor and the alleged attackers. The brothers testified in court that Smollett paid them $3,500 for the bogus crime. The American star denies this representation and continues to reject the allegations. His defense announced that he would appeal.

The case took another strange turn in March 2019, when prosecutors surprisingly dropped the 16 charges against Smollett. All the actor had to do was do community service and pay $10,000. This was strongly criticized by the police and the city of Chicago. In the end, a special prosecutor was appointed to look into the case again. The so-called grand jury finally brought charges against Smollett again in February 2020, which eventually led to an indictment.