An appeals court upheld the disorderly conduct convictions Friday of actor Jussie Smollett, who was accused of staging a racist, homophobic attack against himself in 2019 and lying about it to Chicago police.
Smollett, who appeared in the TV show 鈥淓mpire,鈥 challenged the role of a special prosecutor, jury selection, evidence and many other aspects of the case. But all were turned aside in a 2-1 opinion from the Illinois Appellate Court.
Smollett had that he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack by two men wearing ski masks. The search for the attackers soon turned into an investigation of Smollett himself, leading to his arrest on charges he had .
Authorities said he paid two men whom he knew from work on 鈥淓mpire,鈥 which filmed in Chicago. Prosecutors said Smollett told the men what slurs to shout, and to yell that he was in 鈥淢AGA Country,鈥 a reference to Donald Trump鈥檚 presidential campaign slogan.
A jury on five felony counts of disorderly conduct, a charge that can be filed in Illinois when a person lies to police.
He now will have to finish that was part of his sentence. Smollett spent just six days in jail while his appeal was pending.
Lawyers for Smollett, who is Black and gay, have publicly claimed that he was the target of a racist justice system and people playing politics.
鈥淲e are preparing to escalate this matter to the Supreme Court,鈥 Smollett spokeswoman Holly Baird said, referring to Illinois' highest court and also noting that the opinion at the appellate court wasn't unanimous.
Appellate Justice Freddrenna Lyle would have thrown out the convictions. She said it was 鈥渇undamentally unfair鈥 to appoint a special prosecutor and charge Smollett when he had already performed community service as part of a 2019 deal with Cook County prosecutors to close the case.
鈥淚t was common sense that Smollett was bargaining for a complete resolution of the matter, not simply a temporary one,鈥 Lyle said.
Special prosecutor Dan Webb was appointed to look into why the case was dropped. A grand jury subsequently restored charges against Smollett in 2020, and Webb concluded there were 鈥渟ubstantial abuses of discretion鈥 in the state's attorney office during the earlier round.
Smollett was not immune to a fresh round of charges, appellate Justices David Navarro and Mary Ellen Coghlan said in the majority opinion.
鈥淭he record does not contain any evidence that (prosecutors) agreed Smollett would not be further prosecuted in exchange for forfeiting his bond and performing community service,鈥 they said.
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More AP coverage of the Jussie Smollett case:
