Jussie Smollett Case: Grand Jury Returns 16 Counts Against 'Empire' Actor

[Calista241]

Source: CBS Chicago

CHICAGO (CBS) — Jussie Smollett is now facing deeper legal troubles after a grand jury returned 16 felony counts against the actor for falsely reporting a hate crime attack against him in January.

The grand jury returned the disorderly conduct charges on Thursday. He is scheduled to be arraigned on March 14. The specific allegations–“false report of offense”– are Class 4 felonies.

“Jussie Smollett knew that at the time … there was no reasonable ground for believing that such offenses had been committed,” according to the indictment.

The indictment expands the case against the actor. The counts focus on allegedly false statements he made to two different Chicago Police officers. Each count covers various alleged acts that Smollett falsely described to the officers–including that he was hit by two men, that they yelled racial and homophobic slurs and poured a chemical on him.

Read more: https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2019/03/08/jussie-smollett-grand-jury-indictment/

[Jedi Guy]

1. Hmmm.

What's the betting he'll get more than 47 months? Anyone wanna take that bet?

[rpannier]

4. He probably will

But, his is a state court matter versus federal
Manafort should have gotten about 3x what he got
Here's hoping he gets it in the next sentencing

[Tipperary]

7. He will plea out and probably claim drug or alcohol problems.

I doubt he does any time.

[onetexan]

23. hopefully with next week's second sentencing manafort will get 10 years tacked to his 47 months

it's a travesty people with minor infractions get 5 years or more and a career criminal against the US gets a slap on the wrist.

[Carrito]

2. He better not get more than Manafort

Justice should be blind.

[GulfCoast66]

3. These are state not federal charges. But you point is good.

He will get more than Manafort. He’s African American.

[a kennedy]

5. Yup....the darker skinned people ALWAYS GET LONGER SENTENCES.......

[GulfCoast66]

6. Not saying if the charges are true he doesn't deserve punishment.

But compare the time he gets vs the time white dudes in Illinois get for the same charges? I think we can safely make a prediction.

[beachbum bob]

8. show us example of some white dude doing the same thing in Illinois who had same "prominence" as

this idiot....

he will deserve all the punishment that comes his way for wasting taxpayer's time and money on a bullshit stunt

[Tipperary]

14. Yes.

What would have happened if two random white guys had been in the area? Would he have sworn they did it? Sent two innocent men to prison? I think he would have. He appears to be lacking in a moral compass.

[MicaelS]

9. If this had been some white dude..

Who perpetuated this, the cries would be "Lock him up for the max time". Do not pretend otherwise.

[RandiFan1290]

11. If he were white and did it for the republicons

He would get off easy just like Ashley Todd did

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashley_Todd_mugging_hoax

In October 2008, Ashley Todd, a volunteer for the U.S. presidential campaign of Republican John McCain,[1] falsely claimed to have been the victim of robbery and politically motivated physical assault by a supporter of McCain's Democratic opponent Barack Obama.[2] The story broke less than two weeks before the 2008 United States presidential election on November 4. Todd later confessed to inventing the story after surveillance photos and a polygraph test were presented. She was charged with filing a false police report, and entered a probation program for first-time offenders.

[madville]

21. Illinois and Pennsylvania laws are different for this crime

He is charged with a felony in Illinois that can carry a 1-3 year sentence.

The same crime in Pennsylvania is either a 2nd or 3rd degree misdemeanor depending if you tried to falsely incriminate a third party and carry "up to" one or two year maximums.

A better example would be something within the same state. This was so high profile I would bet he gets something substantial if he makes them go through a trial, he would probably fare way better at this point by trying to strike a plea deal to avoid any prison time.

[Honeycombe8]

29. I think that was a case of being well connected.

McCain probably pulled some strings, called in some favors, or maybe the law gave her a break in deference to McCain.

[former9thward]

24. He will get far less than Manafort.

Probably nothing at all. This is Chicago. Have to do a whole lot to get 47 months.

[marble falls]

10. This is just piling on. No one got hurt by this episode except Jesse Smollet.

[NurseJackie]

13. He clearly needs help...

... whether it's for mental issues or substance-abuse issues. His behavior tells me that something is wrong with him.

You're right... this piling-on helps nobody.

[marble falls]

15. Especially in the light of a 47 month sentence handed out this week.

[former9thward]

25. The city was smeared.

The police were smeared. A lot of people were hurt.

[marble falls]

26. No one was hurt. How do the cops get smeared worse than the cop that shot a kid in the ...

streets 16 times. Chicago has its priorities up its collective ass.

Nobody got hurt by this business except Jussie Smollett.

[former9thward]

32. He said there were people attacking blacks gays in the city.

That is a slander.

[metalbot]

44. Nobody got hurt?

That's utterly absurd.

What he did hurt every legitimate victim of a hate crime. What he did will continue to hurt people for years to come.

Early last month, a gay couple was badly beaten here in Austin. A group of men were arrested and charged with the assault. However, outside of a small group of people, nobody is going to remember this event in a few years. You know what "hate crime" people are still going to remember in a few years? The fake one that Smollett tried to pull off.

What Smollett did was to hand ammunition to everyone who wants to question the veracity of hate crime victims.

I'm really shocked that anyone would be minimizing the impact of what he did, especially on DU.

[jmowreader]

27. Smollett indirectly hurt all of us

Now, if someone is really a victim of a hate crime a lot of people are going to remember Smollett's bullshit.

[Honeycombe8]

30. It cost the city a LOT of money.

Think of all the people it took to investigate. Having had to go through the process of getting records, reviewing videos and such, I know that just finding that security video with those guys on it took hours of time. Multiple people, spending days on it, each person on the clock...cost the city money AND took resources away from other crimes.

It didn't physically hurt someone, but it hurt the city's pocketbook, and it has hurt the legitimacy of the reports of real hate crimes.

The fact that he used a noose, which has a special meaning in the history of our country, and said the thugs used certain language, and said MAGA, etc., made it personal to the city, as well.

He didn't just fake a mugging. What he did was particularly offensive on different levels.

[marble falls]

31. Oh Puhlease. He hurt no one but himself. And now the city that's not hurt by crooked politicians ..

brutal cops can spend a lot more money prosecuting him and hundreds of thousands potentially in jailing him. If he's found guilty, wanna bet if he gets more time or less than Manafort or Cohen?

No one got hurt except Jussie Smollett.

[Honeycombe8]

33. Crooked politicians also hurt any city. You got proof for THAT city...

that some crooked politicians have taken tens of thousands of dollars from the city? If so, notify them of your evidence, so they can be prosecuted, too.

EVERYONE who does something like this stunt should be prosecuted, made to do whatever the penalty is, and ordered to pay restitution for the cost of his stunt.

He hurt: The city, anyone who tries to report a real incident like this in the future, the cops and investigators who spent their time and efforts trying to hunt down neo-Nazis that did not exist.

No, he won't serve more time than Manafort. But even if he did, it's a different court system. Which you know. Don't try to blame his being held to account on his race. He committed a crime. Last time I checked, criminals are penalized in this country.

[marble falls]

41. Up to three years in prison? This is a stupid prosecution.

[Honeycombe8]

45. Only YOU have suggested he'd get more than Manafort.

Criticizing your own post is an interesting thing to do.

I said quite plainly that "no," he wouldn't get more than Manafort. But it's up to that jurisdiction, which is a different one that Manafort's. Different state, different crime, different level of crime, different court, different judge.

You need to catch up on the legal system. I think falsifying a police report is a misdemeanor in most state jurisdictions, but I'm not sure. It's up to the jurisdiction whether to prosecute and impose a restitution or time in jail, probably dependent on how serious the falsification was.

This has happened many times. You can Google all the times people have falsified crimes and whether they were charged, their sentences, whether they had to pay restitution for the costs they caused. I didn't see any as serious as this one.

You also have to consider whether the perp has a prior offense. Smollett does. He falsified info to law enforcement before.

[Blue_Tires]

42. To be fair,

any black/gay folks who report a hate crime now will sadly be given 1000% more scrutiny for the foreseeable future...

[X_Digger]

38. Oh really? Who didn't get police attention when they were investigating?

Pulling police resources to respond to / investigate a false claim diverts officers and detectives from doing *real* work.

What case didn't get the attention it needed because of this stupid shit?

Try telling the victim whose crime investigation got delayed that 'no one got hurt' by this.

For fuck's sake.

[Codeine]

43. Except the next time someone is the victim

of a hate crime and their story is immediately buried under a tidal wave of “Jussie Smollet Hoax!” pushback.

[NurseJackie]

12. I think he has untreated or chronic mental/emotional problems.

I hope he gets the help he needs.

[Honeycombe8]

34. Why? Has he done this before, you mean? nt

[former9thward]

39. Yes, he has.

In 2007 he was stopped for a DUI in Los Angeles and claimed he was his brother. He also signed a false name to get out of jail. He plead guilty to giving false information.

https://pagesix.com/2019/02/20/jussie-smollett-once-lied-to-cops-during-dui-arrest/

[Honeycombe8]

40. Whoa. Psych alert on him.

I wonder if they knew that before he was hired for Empire.

[bonniebgood]

16. Wait. Wait. What about all the false police report from

bar b que becky? and others like her making false police reports on black people? I am not making excuses for
Jussie Smollet just comparing false police reports and equal justice.

[Igel]

17. State government is local.

The laws are not uniform; the sentencing guidelines and even the legal penalties available are not consistent.

There's an obvious example or three. In Texas, if you vote absentee you are allowed to have certain people--typically close relatives--help you complete the absentee ballot, take the ballot, and put it in the mail. In other words, you are allowed to have considerable assistance--and still politiqueras are indicted every election for doing exactly that (and it's common enough that it doesn't even make the news). In California, there's more latitude in who can legally help you vote absentee--who can pick up the ballot for you, help you complete it, take it, seal it, and turn it in via the mail or in person. In North Carolina, this is not permitted, and was the subject of a recent nationally-publicized scandal.

Nobody cares about "equal justice" in the case of absentee ballot assistance. Standards are local and passed by local legislatures.

[Honeycombe8]

19. Come on, now.

BBQ Becky didn't make up that a black person was in the park BBQ'ing. And she didn't pay two people to stage it. And she didn't show up somewhere w/a noose around her neck, claiming someone did that to her, while talking about MAGA and black people. And a ton of money wasn't spent for investigating it, hours obtaining and reviewing security camera footage and interviewing witnesses.

What BBQ Becky did wasn't a crime, as far as I know. She thought what she was reporting was illegal, as I recall, but she was wrong. Even if she'd known, I don't think it's a crime, or if it is, it's a misdemeanor.

What Smollett did, if he's found guilty, may end in a large fine (tens of thousands of dollars in restitution), and probably jail time. It was a staged fraud against the public and the police. If true, which it seems to be.

[Honeycombe8]

18. Makes me wonder what goes through people's minds, sometimes.

Just what was he thinking? How is it he could take time away from the police to investigate real crimes? Why did he think he'd get away with it? (Assuming he did it, and it sure seems that way.)

The next time a real incident takes place, people will be doubtful it's real, because of Smollett. But Smollett did accomplish one thing: a lot more people know his name, now. But I think he'll find that won't be helpful to his career.

[MicaelS]

20. People think they will never get caught.

It's as simple as that.

[Evolve Dammit]

22. Just to compare, and not condone...Trump makes wild claims DAILY about being a victim

Every day, he's a victim. He doesn't need help, because the media and GOP project everything he asserts as a victim (fake news, unfair, blah, witch hunt blah, not fair to Trump, blah, worst treatment of any President, blah and lies 24/7). He doesn't need to have friends stage assaults to make his case; the media and syncopates do it for him. Again, not condoning a fake assault, just pointing out the facts.

[Chin music]

28. Too bad we can't get civilian speed justice for the destroyers of our Democracy.

That was fast. But, he's black and just a regular American civilian.
It does work fast when they want it too.
Justice delayed, is justice denied.

[rocktivity]

35. The penalty appears to range from probation to up to four years

per count.

Smollett's underlying crime was deliberately getting the police involved, and he did commit a hate crime. Remember that runaway bride? She ended up fined for the police overtime.


rocktivity

[DeminPennswoods]

37. That's a lot of charges

My guess is that he will end up reimbursing ChiPD for some of the costs of the investigation and the other charges will be dropped in that settlement.

[TexasBlueDog]

36. The letter

Catching a Federal charge on the fake letter was the big deal and that seems to have disappeared. There will be noise about the state stuff but it will fade to probation in due time. He might even get rehabilitated after a year or two.