Actor Jussie Smollett sentenced to 5 months in prison for staging his fake racist attack

“You are not the victim of a hate crime. You’re just a charlatan who claimed to be the victim of a hate crime, and that’s shameful. A Chicago judge sentenced American actor Jussie Smollett to nearly five months in jail on Thursday for staging his fake racist and homophobic assault in January 2019, an attack that sparked outrage at the time. in the USA.

The 39-year-old African-American and gay comedian was found guilty in December of “planning” the fake attack by paying $3,500 to two Nigerian brothers, and of lying to police several times. in his depositions.

“You wanted attention, you wanted to be more famous,” said judge, James Linn, in passing sentence. He castigated an “arrogant, selfish and narcissistic” defendant who “premeditated to the extreme” a lie that ultimately had the opposite effect. “You screwed up your life” and “you harmed the real victims of racist crimes,” he explained.

” I am innocent “

Jussie Smollett, who was to be imprisoned on Thursday evening, will have to serve the first 150 days in prison and will spend a total of 30 months on probation. He must also reimburse 120,106 dollars corresponding to part of the costs related to the Chicago police investigation.

“I am not suicidal and I am innocent,” said Jussie Smollett after the sentencing, before leaving the courtroom with a raised fist. He appeared to be responding to tabloid rumors about his mental health. His lawyer immediately appealed, but the judge refused to suspend the prison sentence pending. Jussie Smollett’s lawyers and family had previously implored Justice Linn’s clemency and requested an alternative sentence to jail time.

Messages WhatsApp

Fallen star of the hit TV series Empire, Jussie Smollett has always claimed his innocence. He claims to have been attacked in the middle of the night on January 29, 2019 in a Chicago street by two masked men, claiming to be supporters of President Donald Trump. They reportedly hit him with racist and homophobic slurs and put a noose around his neck.

According to his lawyers, Jussie Smollett was attacked by Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, two brothers met on the set ofEmpire, who were motivated by money and one of whom was homophobic. But for the prosecution, who was able to rely on WhatsApp conversations, the actor engineered the attack to advance his career by taking advantage of his notoriety.

The case had caused a shock in a country still strongly marked by racial and sexual discrimination. The actor had immediately received the support of many personalities from the political and cultural world.