Former Empire star Jussie Smollet has been found guilty of five out of six counts of felony disorderly conduct, according to The Associated Press. Smollett faced charges due to allegedly making false reports to police that he was the victim of a hate crime in January 2019.
While Judge James Linn won’t decide the official charges until a later date, each of the five guilty sentences could result in three years in prison and a $25,000 fine a piece.
Smollett, who pleaded not guilty in the case, claimed back in 2019 that he had been walking home in downtown Chicago early in the morning when two men approached him, shouted racist and homophobic slurs, beat him up, poured bleach on him, and looped a rope around his neck.
Anthony Guglielmi, then the Chicago Police spokesperson, tweeted out info at the time of the incident:
However, Chicago police found two “persons of interest” at the time and were able to bring them in for questioning. These turned out to be brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, who claimed in court that Smollett orchestrated a “hoax” and even paid then $3,500 to carry it out.
While Smollett maintained in court that he “never” paid Abimbola Osundairo to attack him, saying the purpose for his payment was, “For my workout. For my training.”
We will provide updates on this story as it develops.
