Actor Jussie Smollett is to be sentenced on March 10, as confirmed by his defense attorneys, for a hate crime hoax in 2019.
Smollett was convicted on five of six counts of felony disorderly conduct for being untruthful about a racist and homophobic attack on himself in 2019. He was found guilty of telling a police officer he was a hate crime victim, telling an officer he was a battery victim, telling a detective he was a hate crime victim, telling a detective he was a battery victim and then telling a detective again he was battery victim. The jury found Smollett not guilty of a sixth count which was telling a second detective he was an aggravated battery victim.
Chicago P.D. determined that the actor orchestrated the incident and paid two brothers, Bola and Ola Osundario, that he knew from Empire to stage the incident to gain the public’s attention.The charges are low-level felonies that carry a sentence of up to three years but are also eligible for probation. CNN notes that a charge for a false crime report is a Class 4 felony and punishable by up to 3 years in prison and a $25,000 fine.March 3, both sides will have to turn in a list of witnesses they want to call too stand. James Linn, Cook County Judge, will decide if Smollett will serve a concurrent or consecutive sentence for each of the five counts. Smollett's attorneys have said they have every intention to appeal the verdict, and are "confident" they will be met with total success.
