Jussie Smollett Gets Jail Sentence For Lying To Police In Staged Attack
Actor Jussie Smollett receives a county jail sentence after he was found guilty of lying to police about a hoax attack. The 39-year-old former Empire star has been embroiled in legal proceedings since reporting his alleged assault in 2019. Smollett claimed that two masked men attacked him while shouting racist and homophobic slurs, pouring chemicals over him and tying a noose around his neck before he escaped. He was later accused of staging the altercation and paying his two assailants (Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo) $3,500 to assault him.
One of the original cast members of Empire, Smollett had featured as Jamal Lyon in the hit Fox series for five seasons before his indictment saw him removed from the sixth and final season. His character’s absence from the show was ultimately explained away, with Jamal suggested to have moved away from his family with a new partner. Though Smollett’s original 16 charges for filing false police reports were ultimately dropped, he was once again charged in 2020 with six counts of disorderly conduct. In December, a jury found him guilty of five out of the six charges.
Related: How Jurnee Smollett's Leti Lewis Became Lovecraft Country's Biggest Hero
Now, as reported by The Associated Press, a judge has handed Smollett a jail sentence. The actor must serve 150 days in county jail for lying to police, in addition to paying over $120,000 in restitution and a $25,000 fine. The sentence came amid calls for leniency from family and supporters such as Samuel L Jackson, while prosecutors branded the sentence "appropriate.” Check out the report from The Associated Press below:
BREAKING: Jussie Smollett has been sentenced to 150 days in county jail for lying to police about a racist and
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