Actor Jussie Smollett’s Hate Crime Hoax Conviction Tossed Out

Topline

The Illinois Supreme Court overturned actor Jussie Smollett’s 2021 conviction for allegedly staging a hate crime attack against himself and reporting it to the police, multiple outlets reported Thursday.

Key Facts

Smollett argued to the state Supreme Court he was charged with the same crime twice—since local prosecutors initially dropped the charges and a special prosecutor later picked them up—and the court was “influenced by improper aggravating factors” when sentencing him, ABC7 Chicago reported in September when the high court heard his argument.

Smollett was found guilty on five counts of felony disorderly conduct in 2021 related to a police report he filed in 2019 that prosecutors said was false, and the conviction was upheld by a lower court late last year.

He maintained his innocence throughout the trial, saying “there was no hoax” when prosecutors alleged he paid two men to beat him up and stage the hate crime, and arguing he instead paid the men $3,500 for advice about nutrition and personal training.

Big Number

150. That’s how many days in jail, along with two years of probation, Smollett was sentenced to after he was convicted of disorderly conduct. He was also ordered to pay $120,106 in restitution to Chicago and a fine of $25,000.

Key Background

Smollett, who is Black and gay, said he was attacked by two men in January 2019—when he was well known for his role in “Empire”—who yelled “MAGA country” at him, put a noose around him and poured liquid on him. A pair of brothers, Abimbola and Olabingo Osundairo, were arrested but released and not charged, and in February Smollett, who knew the brothers, was arrested and accused of filing the fake police report and paying the brothers to stage the attack. The charges were dropped and Smollett reportedly forfeited the $10,000 of his bond he paid to the city and did community service, which he said constituted a non-prosecution agreement and punishment, ABC7 Chicago reported. A special prosecutor then brought more charges against him related to the incident in 2020 and again alleged he staged the incident and paid the brothers to attack him. He appealed his conviction in 2023 because of the alleged due process violation, though a lower court upheld it, leading him to appeal to the state Supreme Court, which agreed to hear his case in March and heard arguments in September.

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