Jussie Smollett Appeals to Illinois Supreme Court to Throw Out His Hate Crime Hoax Conviction

BEVERLY HILLS, CA - APRIL 01: Actor Jussie Smollett introduces a moving tribute to the LGB
Rich Polk/Getty Images for Ketel One Vodka

Hate crime hoaxer and disgraced actor Jussie Smollett is appealing his case to the Illinois Supreme Court in an attempt to try to convince the public that he really was attacked by homophobic racists during a 2:00 a.m. Subway sandwich run in Chicago in 2019.

Attorneys for Smollett are asking the Illinois Supreme Court to intervene in the disgraced actor’s case involving the false claims he made in 2019 about being a victim of a hate a crime, according to a report by Chicago’s WGN-TV.

In 2022, Smollett was found guilty of filing a false police report after he hired two brothers from Nigeria to stage a fake hate crime against him, in which the actor claimed two men wearing MAGA hats put a rope around his neck, poured bleach on him, shouted racial and homophobic slurs at him, and then yelled, “This is MAGA country!”

Now, the Empire actor’s lawyer has filed a request for the Illinois Supreme Court to look into the conviction on felony disorderly conduct charges, claiming the special prosecutor’s case threatens to upend non-prosecution agreements entered into by defendants and prosecutors.

“What should have been a straightforward case has been complicated by the intersection of politics and public outrage,” Smollett’s attorney Nenye Uche wrote in the filing. “The dismissal of the Petitioner’s charges, after his complete performance, was the result of a collaborative effort and agreement reached between the State and the Petitioner.”

As Breitbart News reported, Smollett was sentenced to 150 days in Cook County jail, 30 months of probation, pay a restitution of $120,106, and a fine of $25,000 in March 2022.

But the disgraced actor — who maintained his innocence throughout the trial, and shouted “I am innocent” and “I am not suicidal” as he was being hauled off to jail — only spent six nights in jail before he was freed pending this appeal.

Smollett last made headlines in December, when he was headed back to jail after an Illinois appeals court upheld his convictions and jail sentence.

You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and X/Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.

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