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US actor pleads not guilty for attack hoax
CHICAGO, Feb 25, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – A US actor who was accused of fabricating
a hate crime pled not guilty Monday to six new charges against him, after all
charges were dropped last year.
Former “Empire” star Jussie Smollett was accused in 2019 of masterminding a
hoax attack in Chicago to gain publicity and secure a bigger paycheck.
“He’s obviously frustrated to be dragged through this process again,” said
his lawyer Tina Glandian after the hearing Monday.
But they were ready to go to trial if necessary, she added.
The 37-year-old actor was indicted on February 11 by a grand jury in Cook
County, which handles crimes in Chicago, on six counts of disorderly conduct
related to the alleged false reporting.
Smollett, who had been one of the main cast members on “Empire,” reported
to police in January 2019 that he was attacked in the middle of the night by
two masked men while walking near his home in the large midwestern city.
But Chicago police eventually said he staged the whole thing.
Smollett, who is gay and African American, maintained his innocence in the
face of a damning public account from authorities of their case against him.
They accused him of sending himself a threatening letter — complete with
homophobic and racial slurs — and hiring two acquaintances, brothers
Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo, to stage the attack while invoking Donald
Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.
The case got even weirder when Cook County prosecutors eventually dropped
the initial 16 felony counts against him last March.
The city did, however, send a letter to Smollett’s attorneys, asking the
actor to pay the $130,000 cost of overtime work related to the police
investigation.
Gloria Schmidt Rodriguez, who is representing the Osundairo brothers, told
reporters outside the courtroom Monday that the men “want the public to know
that they were open and honest and remorseful about their conduct.”
“They have been truthful since day one and they will continue to be
truthful,” she said.
The episode revived America’s long-simmering debate about how just the
country’s criminal justice system really is, whether the rich get off easy —
and whether prosecutors should have so much discretion.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 0808 hrs