'Clout-Chaser' Jussie Smollett Sentenced to 150 Days in Jail for Orchestrating Hate Crime Hoax
00:38 GMT 11.03.2022 (Updated: 04:29 GMT 12.03.2022)
© AP Photo / Brian CassellaActor Jussie Smollett listens as his grandmother Molly testifies at his sentencing hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, Thursday, March 10, 2022, in Chicago.
![Actor Jussie Smollett listens as his grandmother Molly testifies at his sentencing hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, Thursday, March 10, 2022, in Chicago. Actor Jussie Smollett listens as his grandmother Molly testifies at his sentencing hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, Thursday, March 10, 2022, in Chicago. - Sputnik International, 1920, 11.03.2022](https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/03/0b/1093761587_0:0:2889:1625_1920x0_80_0_0_f7483a37c50f2030c767af30e4d7ae80.jpg)
© AP Photo / Brian Cassella
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In December, Smollett, known for his role in the television series "Empire", was found guilty of staging an assault by two men and filing a false police report. In the report, he claimed the two men shouted racial and homophobic insults. He was earlier convicted of five counts of felony disorderly conduct and acquitted of a sixth.
Actor Jussie Smollett has been sentenced to 30 months felony probation and $120,000 restitution to the city of Chicago for staging a hate crime attack against himself. The judge ordered Smollett to spend the first 150 days of his sentence in the Cook County Jail.
Prior to announcing the sentence, the judge said that no sentencing that he gives Smollett today will compare to the damage the man has done to his own life. He also said that Smollett's name is synonymous with a liar.
"You're just a charlatan pretending to be a victim of a hate crime, and that's shameful", the judge said.
Smollett, who apparently lost it after the sentence was announced, shouted, "I am not suicidal, I am innocent! If anything happens to me in there I did not do it".
The original incident occurred in January 2019, when Smollett purported he was attacked by two criminals who accompanied their actions with homophobic and racist insults, presenting the image of a hate crime.
A month later, police arrested the two suspects, who turned out to be Smollett's personal trainer and an extra on the "Empire" television series. Both men told authorities that they were paid to commence the attack by Smollett.
![Former Empire actor Jussie Smollett leaves the Leighton Criminal Courts Building as the jury begins deliberation during his trial on December 8, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. Former Empire actor Jussie Smollett leaves the Leighton Criminal Courts Building as the jury begins deliberation during his trial on December 8, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. - Sputnik International, 1920, 11.12.2021](https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e5/0c/09/1091365510_0:104:3001:1304_1920x0_80_0_0_d5120e47c131e7a9d8044f18ffbebd06.jpg)
Trump Slams Smollett’s Hoax Attack as ‘Hate Crime in Reverse’, Says 'If Republican, He'd Be In Jail'
11 December 2021, 12:59 GMT
Smollet has repeatedly denied his guilt. Nevertheless, the actor was found guilty on 12 December 2021, on five of the six counts of felony disorderly conduct – a Class 4 felony – which is punishable by up to three years in prison and a $25,000 fine. According to investigators, the actor initiated the attack in order to draw positive publicity and profit financially from it.
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