Jussie Smollett Sentenced To 150 Days In County Jail For Staging Hate Crime Against Himself In 2019

Jussie Smollett has been sentenced to jail time followed by probation for falsely reporting a hate crime against himself in 2019.

On Thursday, Cook County Judge James Linn sentenced the embattled 39-year-old to 30 months probation, 150 days which will be spent in jail. He has also been ordered to pay the city of Chicago a restitution of $120,106 and has been fined $25,000, Access Hollywood confirms.

The Chicago Police Department was at the sentencing hearing and submitted a victim impact statement requesting $130,105 in restitution to the city.

After his sentenced was announced Smollett, who has long denied any wrongdoing, got emotional saying, “I am innocent and I am not suicidal!… If I did this then it means I stuck my fist in the fears of Black Americans in this country for over 400 years and the fears of the LGBTQ community, your honor I respect you and I respect the jury but I did not do this. And I am not suicidal. And if anything happens to me when I go in there, I did not do it to myself, and you must all know that.”

A Chicago jury initially found the “Empire” actor guilty in December 2021, finding him guilty of five of the six counts of felony disorderly conduct against him for falsely reporting a hate crime against himself back in 2019.

The actor previously claimed to police that he was the target of a racist and homophobic attack in January 2019. In the initial police report, he claimed he was assaulted by two masked men who hurled racist and homophobic slurs. He also claimed that the men poured an unknown substance on him and put a noose around his neck, per the Chicago Police.

He was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct one month later in February.

Smollett plead not guilty at the time and charges against him were dropped in March 2019. He was later indicted by a special prosecutor over the “false reports” in February 2020.

Smollett broke his silence about the situation in September 2020, speaking with Marc Lamont Hill on an Instagram Live interview, where he maintained his innocence and said he felt like he was being made an example of, calling the situation, “beyond frustrating.”

— Stephanie Swaim

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