Black Lives Matter Supporting Jussie Smollett Despite Guilty Verdict

Jussie Smollett made a name for himself for acting in films such as The Mighty Ducks and more. The actor is currently facing felony disorderly conduct charges over what prosecutors allege was staging an attack in 2019 while in Chicago.

It all started back in January 2019, when Jussie Smollett, who had an apartment in Chicago, filed a police report after he was said to have suffered a homophobic and racist attack near his Chicago home, leading to a hate crime investigation.

After investigation, authorities claimed Smollett staged the attack, alleging the actor paid two acquaintances, brothers Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo to help carry out the scheme.

In the end, he was found guilty of lying about being a victim of hate crime. According to TMZ, leaders of Black Lives Matter and BLM LA released a statement before the verdict, in support of the “Empire” actor, saying … “So let’s be clear: we love everybody in our community … we can never believe police, especially the CPD over Jussie Smollett, a Black man who has been courageously present, visible, and vocal in the struggle for Black freedom.”

After the guilty verdict, BLM LA leader Melina Abdullah stated that they will continue to support the actor and that the organization refuses to abandon its people and stands on the principle that the justice system is corrupt.

Jussie now faces a possible 3-year prison sentence, but might not get jailed as he has no prior record. However, he will have to pay $130k in restitution to Chicago to cover its expenses for investigating the hoax.

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