Photo Credit: Jussie Smollett/Instagram
The saga of Jussie Smollett and what has been reported as a hoax of him staging his own hate crime has taken a new turn this morning. He has now been arrested and faces a felony charge for allegedly filing a false police report. Smollett “is under arrest and in custody of detectives” the Chicago Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi tweeted. His bond hearing is later today at 1:30 pm.
His attorneys Todd Pugh and Victor Henderson made a statement last night that they will be making an “aggressive defense.” in fighting for their client. “Like any other citizen, Mr. Smollett enjoys the presumption of innocence, particularly when there has been an investigation like this one where information, both true and false, has been repeatedly leaked. Given these circumstances, we intend to conduct a thorough investigation and to mount an aggressive defense,” they added. Also on his legal team is celebrity attorney Mark Geragos, known for getting Susan Mcdougal acquitted of embezzlement charges, had firearm charges dropped for rapper Nate Dogg, represented Chris Brown in his assault case against Rihanna and helped Colin Kaepernick get his collusion settlement against the NFL.
Representatives for Fox have twice defended Smollett against reports that his character has been decreased on the show Empire, standing by his side, but after he was charged, that was no longer the case. They have since declined to make a comment.
The backlash for Smollett sending the nation into a media tailspin has been swift. Comedian Godfrey says he owes the country an apology including supporters of President Trump. Conservative commentator Allie Beth Stuckey tweeted, “I’m sad about the whole Jussie Smollett thing. Obviously I’m happy the crime didn’t actually happen, but I’m sad that we’ve apparently reached a point where victimhood is so virtuous that you’d risk absolutely everything to gain it.”
A press conference is scheduled for 9am, prior to Smollett appearing in court.
