Nearly three years after Jussie Smollett was accused of faking a hate crime, the former Empire actor is one step closer to facing trial on six charges of disorderly conduct.
A judge has dismissed a request by Smollett to have his case thrown out relating to allegations that he staged a racist and homophobic attack in 2019, then lied to police about it.
To recap, the actor said he was the victim of a violent attack at the hands of brothers Ola and Abel Osundario, who would later say they were paid $3,000 by Smollett to participate. They claimed the plot related to Smollett being dissatisfied with his Empire salary.
Related: Jussie Smollett’s sister slams hoax allegations: “I believe my brother”
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In 2020, Smollett pleaded not guilty to the six charges.
In the request for dismissal, Smollet’s lawyer, Nenye Uche, argued the actor’s rights were being violated given he’d already paid a $10,000 bond and served community service in compliance with a deal in Cook County.
Uche said Friday, “A deal is a deal. That’s ancient principle.”
In January 2019, Smollett claimed two men approached him outside a Subway Sandwich and tied a noose around his neck, poured a chemical substance on him, and used Donald Trump‘s “Make America Great Again” slogan.
Related: Lee Daniels says he’s “beyond embarrassed” for ever believing Jussie Smollett
The next month, he was charged with filing a false police report. He pleaded not guilty and all charges were suddenly dropped shortly after. Smollett was written out of the final remaining episodes of Empire season 5.
Special prosecutor Dan Webb reopened the case in 2020, charging Smollett with the six new counts of disorderly conduct.
Webb stated at the time that he had “sufficient factual evidence” to show the initial prosecutors were wrong to drop the charges.
Chrisk
Yes a deal is a deal unless it was done through a cover up and can be proven. Besides this can be Jussie’s way of restoring himself since he was saying he was still looking for the perpetrators.
Mack
Well a “deal” is what got Bill Cosby released from jail after his conviction.
GrizzleyMichael
no sympathy here
Kangol2
He paid the bond, did the required community service and pretty much destroyed his acting and singing careers. That doesn’t seem like negligible penance for his foolish stunt.
stonercharles
NOPE!!!
barryaksarben
I totally agree with you. For some reason AMericans love to pick a person who committed a crime and want to throw them away forever and to keep making them pay long after they full-filled their punishment. If you want to blame somsone blame the judge or jury that allowed him to get sentenced like he was. Patty Hearst was never proven to actually joined the SLA and yet she went to prison and people still act like she was a murderer. There are others. Child molesters I understand being locked up as they can not control themselves so are probably not safe but this guy was just a stupid jerk and he HAS paid. I have to add Kevin Spacey. NOT even found guilty by a court yet his career was ruined.
RyanMBecker
Er no. The fact is that he still maintains his innocence. That means that there are two racist homophobes still running around Chicago, possibly attacking again. In other words, Smollet wants the city to continue expending money, time and manpower to hunt down those perpetrators so that black and gay Chicagoans can feel safe again. There is no other conclusion one can draw — unless you want to believe that Smollett doesn’t care about pubic safety, racism or homophobia. Or that he was lying.
But until Smollet confesses, we’ll never know, will we? And some parts of the city, especially those naive enough to believe him, will still live in fear.
In other words, no, Smollet has NOT done his penance. As long as he’s okay with people living in fear — and to waste public resources — just to protect his ego, he’s still a criminal with a debt owed to society. And a special debt to blacks and gays whose future claims of bias attack will now face more doubt.
All it takes are two words to fix everything: “I lied.” And maybe two more words for rehabilitation: “I’m sorry.” Until then, no forgiveness or sympathy from me.
RyanMBecker
barryaksarben wrote: “blame the judge or jury that allowed him to get sentenced like he was.”
You’re apparently clueless about the case. And not very literate either. The article clearly said that the charges were suddenly dropped. In other words, it never reached a judge or jury because the corrupt prosecutor illogically decided not to pursue the case. It shocked many observers because the evidence was there and she provided no real reason for her actions. There were even accusations of bribes and conflicts of interest. That’s why the new prosecutor almost immediately reopened the case.
As for the rest of your illogical argument, read my prior post. By STILL claiming his innocence, Smollett wants the city to continue living in fear, and continuing expending resources to solve this fake crime. Resources that crime-ridden Chicago can’t spare.
Furthermore, you’ve ignored the lawsuit that HE filled against Chicago, claiming “malicious persecution.” Yes, he wants Chicago to pay for his lies. Rather than quietly fade into the background when the corrupt prosecutor dropped the case, Smollett had the temerity to sue. So when exactly did Smollett pay, huh? Did he reimburse Chicago for the money and time wasted investigating the case? Has he apologized to the cast and crew of Empire, who initially defended him?
Fahd
Didn’t even Bill Cosby just recently get released from prison because of a deal with a prosecutor that the prosecutor shouldn’t have made?
Maybe the prosecutor who made the deal with Smollett shouldn’t have done it, but then the current prosecutor should be going after the former prosecutor not Smollett.
I always have said: “What the hell was Smollett thinking?”, but I agree he has suffered enough. Trying to distract attention from a bad previous prosecution by relentlessly pursuing Smollett is not right.
BaltoSteve
Well, what was the deal? They would drop those charges for his bond and community service? Was there a clause that future charges related to the incident can’t be raised? See, it’s that third question that needs to be addressed and is VERY different than what Pudding Pops was told. Did they say you won’t be charged at all for the incident or just that the current charges would be dropped. If it is the latter, that would explain why these are different charges from the first round.
Fahd
Smollett is a dummy, but he’s paid a price. With the murder rate in Chicago, they’ve got a special prosecutor on Smollett? Really? Two wrongs don’t make a right. Nailing Smollett doesn’t make the prosecutor’s office look any better for having dealt with the case inappropriately in the first place. The prosecutors should be investigating themselves; if they’re not already. As for Smollett, I honestly no longer care, do you?
RyanMBecker
As for Smollett’s first prosecutor, she may be investigated for corruption but that’s entirely separate from Smollett’s crime against Chicago. Are you claiming that charges should be dropped even if it resulted from corruption or an invalid application of the law? How does that benefit society?
Furthermore, Cosby has served three years in prison. And the crime for which he was imprisoned was against only one woman. Smollett’s crime was against an entire city, and more specifically, victimized the black and gay communities. How much time has Smollet served? Indeed, he continues to victimize Chicago and those communities by claiming that two racist homophobes are still running free. And let’s not forget that he sued Chicago for “malicious prosection.” Has Cosby done any of this? Compare how much time, money and manpower Smollett had cost Chicago vs that by Cosby. There is simply no logical comparison between the two cases.
Smollett has suffered enough? Really? Where is your evidence? Has he suffered enough to admit his crime and apologize? In fact, he just finished B-Boy Blues, so he wasn’t exactly unemployed, even during COVID.
RyanMBecker
Yes, I do care. You apparently forget a very important factor in judicial theory. Namely, that a key reason for punishment is to deter others from repeating the crime. If you want to be taken seriously, give evidence of how much Smollett has paid, and its deterrent effect. Especially in relation to Cosby, who you illogically brought into the discussion. Don’t forget that the settlement money he paid to the victim likely far exceed what Smollett paid to Chicago. And show us Smollett’s remorse. If you can’t, it proves that the so-called punishment had little effect on Smollett. So yes, as someone interested in justice and criminal deterrent, I care.
Fahd
I no longer care about Smollett. You obviously see his crime as one against humanity and think he should serve a lengthy term (death penalty?). Actually, it says in the post, he is charged with six counts of disorderly conduct.
In my opinion, Chicago has much bigger fish to fry (murder rate?), and the prosecutor’s office there can’t make people forget its corruption even if they get convictions on these “disturbing the peace” charges.
RyanMBecker
Fahd wrote “With the murder rate in Chicago, they’ve got a special prosecutor on Smollett? Really?”
Since Smollett still maintains his innocence, then there are two racist homophobes roaming Chicago doing Trump’s bidding. After Trump’s loss, don’t you think these two attackers might get even more violent? As such, don’t you think it’s Chicago’s duty to hunt down these guys so that no one else gets attacked?
Of course, there are two ways to close the case. Smollett can admit that he lied, which he had steadfastly refused to do — going as far as to sue Chicago for “malicious prosecution.” Or second, for Chicago to conclusively prove that he was lying, which is what they’re doing now. Or are you suggesting that the city should just dismiss claims of hate crimes just because they have other things to do? Have the Me Too and BLM movements taught you nothing? LOL
RyanMBecker
You seem ignorant of both the Cosby case and Smollett case. First of all, no one says that the Cosby’s first prosecutor shouldn’t have made the deal. Even the victim’s lawyer agreed to the deal, where the victim was paid. It was a deal that all found satisfactory. Bill Cosby got released because the present prosecutor should not have reopened the case, given the first deal — which everyone, including the victim, thought to be binding.
Furthermore, analysts agree that the first judge in the present case used bizarre logic against Cosby that violated the 14th Amendment to equal protection. The judge said that because Cosby was a public figure who often spoke on moral issues, he was held to a higher standard, thus less protected from having his records unsealed. In other words, teachers and priests (people of moral authority) are less protected than plumbers and mechanics. A total violation of equal protection. So not only should the present prosecutor not have been able to reopen the case, but the judge should not even have unsealed the records in the first place. That Cosby was released was no surprise to any of the legal analysts I’ve read.
I’ve written extensively about the Cosby case on Quora so you can read more analysis there.
cutemikey
Fahd: “I no longer care about Smollett.”
I always find such insincere protestations hilarious. You certainly cared enough to read this article. Then you cared enough to post your initial comment. Then you cared enough to write several replies. Yeah sure, you don’t care. I will agree that you apparently don’t care enough to educate yourself about both the Cosby and Smollett cases before posting though.
AHappyMom
I’m not sure why you’re reading this if you don’t care. Yes, we Chicagoans care because don’t like the idea of two Trump fanatics attacking people with nooses. We don’t like racist, and we don’t like homophobes. And we don’t like liars who distract the police with fake crimes just so that they can get a higher salary. Unless there is a strong punishment, how would YOU prevent others from pulling the same stunt? So yes, we care. It’s just a shame that you don’t. Whatever. Then just leave the discussion for us adults who do give a damn about justice and crime.
Fahd
Yes, the Chicago prosecutors need to bring all these “disturbers of the peace” to justice. And next every jaywalker and shoplifter will pay!
Meanwhile, Chicago has turned into a hell hole where old people watering their lawns get shot down like flies and the police refuse to get vaccinated. Where is Mayor Daley when you need him?
If you still care about the Smollett case, you watch too much TV.
Chrisk
Fahd
I think they can walk and chew gum at the same time. I care about a corrupt police and I care about rich celebrities that get away with shit because they’re essentially above the law. Anyone else but Jussie would be serving time in Prison by now.
Fahd
Chrisk
If all they’ve got is disturbing the peace, I say it’s them distracting from their own corruption in letting it go the first time.
And I question whether they can chew gum and walk at the same time.
What has happened to Chicago?
sfhairy
He committed the crime, he can do the time.
MISTERJETT
my question is why is everyone taking what the two Nigerian brothers say as the gospel truth? Jussie just might be telling the truth about what happened.
Chrisk
Yeah, him and OJ. I swear there could be a video of it and they’d still have defenders calling them innocent. Lol
jackscott
This guy never seems to take responsibility. Enough with him, please juts find him guilty and have him to his time, so we don’t need to hear from him again.
cuteguy
Can this loser just go away