Jussie Smollett has been indicted again in Chicago on felony charges that he staged a hate crime back in January 2019. According to TMZ, yesterday (February 11th) a grand jury handed up the new indictment against tje actor. The news was announced by the appointed special prosecutor Dan Webb. Jussie is now facing six felony counts for lying to law enforcement. The indictment calls the six charges “disorderly conduct,” but all six involve allegations of lying to cops.
Special Prosecutor Webb said that Jussie “planned and participated in a staged hate crime attack, and thereafter made numerous false statements to Chicago Police Dept. officers.”
He added that the new charges were refiled filed “in the interest of justice.”
JUSSIE'S SPEAKS
A source connected to Jussie told the site, “The officers who re-investigated the case are the same ones who originally investigated it. These officers are currently being sued by Smollett. They have also spent taxpayer money on having these officers go to Los Angeles and harass members of Smollett's team and friends.”
Jussie still maintains his innocent and finds the timing of the indictment interesting — because Cook County State Attorney Kim Foxx is up for re-election next month. He plans to plead not guilty.
Meanwhile, Jussie's attorney Tina Glandian, is also questioning the timing of the indictment, saying, “the attempt to re-prosecute Mr. Smollett one year later on the eve of the Cook County State's Attorney election is clearly all about politics not justice.”
She added, “After more than five months of investigation, the Office of the Special Prosecutor has not found any evidence of wrongdoing whatsoever related to the dismissal of the charges against Mr. Smollett. Rather, the charges were appropriately dismissed the first time because they were not supported by the evidence.”
Kim Foxx's campaign also had something to say about the timing of the special prosecutor's announcement saying, “What's questionable here is the James Comey-like timing of that charging decision, just 35 days before an election, which can only be interpreted as the further politicization of the judicial system, something voters in the era of Donald Trump should consider offensive.”
THE OSUNDAIROS BROTHERS SPEAK
Back in January 2019, Jussie claimed he was attacked in Chicago by two white men who put a rope around his neck and doused him with bleach while yelling racial and homophobic slurs.
However, two black men — brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo — were eventually arrested, and told police Jussie paid them to stage the whole attack.
The Osundairos' attorney, Gloria Schmidt, says they remain “fully committed to the public knowing the truth” about the alleged attack — and will cooperate with the investigation. However, they did not testify before the new grand jury.
Jussie will be arraigned on February 24th. He faces up to three years in state prison if convicted.