CHICAGO — A Cook County jury on Thursday found former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett guilty on five of six counts of disorderly conduct.
Jurors found Smollett guilty on counts 1-5 and not guilty on count six. The 12 jurors reached the verdict after more than nine hours of deliberation.
The next hearing in the case is set for Thursday, Jan. 27. Given Smollett’s lack of a criminal history, there’s little chance he would be sentenced to any time in prison.
Following the verdict, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office said in a statement: “The Jury has spoken. While this case has garnered a lot of attention, we hope as a county we can move forward. At the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office we will continue to focus on the important work of this office, prioritizing and prosecuting violent crime.”
The trial was hallmarked by dueling accusations of perjury by prosecutors and defense attorneys.
Dan Webb, who led the special prosecution, flatly called Smollett a liar during his closing argument Wednesday morning.
“Mr. Smollett went on that witness stand, took an oath that he’s going to tell the truth [and] he made many, many false statements to you,” Webb said. “He lied under oath to you as jurors.”
Nenye Uche countered that the prosecution’s star witnesses, Olabinjo and Amibola Osundairo, were themselves lying when they testified that Smollett recruited them to take part in a phony hate crime.
“They’re certified liars,” Uche said of the Osundairo brothers. “They lied to...
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