By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-21 16:26:55 | Updated at 2024-11-24 11:20:04
2 days ago
Jussie Smollett has had his conviction for lying to the police with a bizarre anti-Trump hoax overturned in a sensational ruling from the Illinois Supreme Court.
The court found that the former 'Empire' actor had his rights violated by a special prosecutor's decision to retry him after initial charges against him were dropped.
Smollett was convicted in December 2021 for lying to police about two men attacking him, yelling homophobic slurs and placing a noose around his neck while wearing MAGA hats.
He was sentenced to 150 days in jail and 30 months probation after it was proven that he made the episode up, and he was also slapped with a hefty fine of $130,160.
Smollett appealed the ruling and has not yet served a day of that sentence behind bars, and his conviction was previously affirmed by a lower court before the Supreme Court agreed to hear his appeal.
The actor's hoax and subsequent arrest sparked a media firestorm years ago, as it was bizarrely found that he had actually paid two Nigerian brothers - Abel and Ola Osundairo - to stage the incident.
Jussie Smollett has had his conviction overturned in a sensational ruling from the Illinois Supreme Court
The actor's hoax and subsequent arrest sparked a media firestorm years ago, as it was bizarrely found that he had actually paid two Nigerian brothers to stage the incident
When Smollett first came forward with his story, the actor was met with huge support, and the Chicago PD vowed to swiftly find his attackers.
Smollett even showed police the noose that he claimed he was almost lynched with.
Although Smollett claimed he was attacked by two white Trump supporters, detectives reviewed surveillance footage and zeroed in on the Osundairo brothers as suspects.
When presented with a grainy surveillance picture of the brothers near the scene, Smollett said they were 'absolutely' the men who attacked him, not realizing they had already been arrested.
By that time, stories had leaked that detectives believed Smollett had concocted the story, seemingly to boost his public profile.
Smollett went on GMA to tearfully insist he was the victim, leading his lawyer to offer a bizarre explanation that his Nigerian attackers 'could have been wearing white make-up.'
Smollett, seen in court in March 2019, was sentenced in 2021 to 150 days in jail and 30 months probation after it was proven that he made the episode up, and he was also slapped with a hefty fine of $130,160
Smollett even showed police the noose that he claimed he was almost lynched with during the investigation (pictured)
Police released this image of the brothers walking near the scene on the night of the attack which Smollett said, without realizing they had been arrested, was 'absolutely' an image of the men who attacked him
In February 2019, a month after the incident, Smollett was arrested and charged with filing a false police report, and his character from Empire was halted.
Despite a grand jury indictment finding he lied repeatedly to cops, the charged against him were sensationally dropped in March, sparking outrage from the public.
After he was fined $140,000 for wasting police resources, a special prosecutor was named to investigate why the charges against Smollett were dropped.
It was this decision that has now led to Smollett's ultimate conviction to be overturned, as it was found his rights were violated by the naming of a special prosecutor after charges against him had already been dropped.
In February 2020 Smollett was indicted again on felony lying to police, and following a contentious trial where he maintained his innocence, Smollett was convicted.
Although he initially received a groundswell of support after coming forward with his story, Smollett suffered a dramatic fall from grace when detectives said he made it up (seen in his mugshot after his first arrest in 2019)
