Television actor Jussie Smollett is going to face new charges just one day after Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said that Smollett should be “held accountable” after he falsely blamed Trump supporters for viciously beating him because he was gay and black.
Smollett, 37, was expected to plead not guilty to felony charges of disorderly conduct during his appearance in Cook County Circuit Court.
Last year Smollett, divided the city of Chicago and the country when he claimed he was attacked by two white men who looped a noose around his neck, and poured bleach on him after yelling racial, homophobic remarks.
As we later learned it was all made up.
Mysteriously the Cook County State Attorney Kim Foxx – who is also now under investigation – dropped the charges. After the outcry a Cook County judge ordered a special prosecutor, former US Attorney Dan Webb to lead an investigation into the case. The judge instructed Webb to investigate all matters of the case including State Attorney Foxx who has recused herself from the case.
Smollett was indicted by a special grand jury this month that has accused him of filing false police reports over the incident. He will remain free after officially entering his plea as he awaits trial. Smollett continues to claim that the police are ignoring witnesses that can corroborate his story.
The Mayor of Chicago Lorie Lightfoot said it’s time for justice and that Smollett needs to take ownership of what he did to the city during the scandal.
“He needs to face the charges,” she said. “He committed a crime, and he needs to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and we are going to continue to aggressively make him accountable for the wasted police resources that went into investigating what turned out to be a total hoax.”
Listen to the mayor below, I think Mr. Smollett’s luck has run out.
