Jussie Smollett found guilty of staging hate crime

A Chicago jury concluded on Thursday that actor Jussie Smollett faked a 2019 hate crime against himself to raise his celebrity profile. He was convicted on five counts of disorderly conduct for making false police reports and acquitted on a sixth count. Judge James Linn scheduled Smollett’s post-trial hearing for Jan. 27 and said he would set the sentencing for a later date. Experts say Smollett will likely be sentenced to probation or community service due to his lack of criminal history.

What was the case about? In January 2019, Smollett claimed he was beaten up by men shouting racist and anti-gay slurs. Police said the 39-year-old hired two brothers to fake the attack, triggering an investigation that involved about two dozen police officers. The brothers testified during the trial that Smollett paid them $3,500 and gave them lines to yell. His attorney said he would appeal Thursday’s conviction.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archive, read Lynde Langdon’s report in Muse about some of the effects of the Smollett case on race relations.