The legal team representing ‘Empire’ actor Jussie Smollett released an official statement Thursday evening; saying the celebrity was “betrayed” by the legal system that orchestrated a “law enforcement spectacle.”
“Mr. Smollet is a young man of impeccable character and integrity who fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence and feels betrayed by a system that apparently wants to skip due process and proceed directly to sentencing,” read the statement.
“Today we witnessed an organized law enforcement spectacle that has no place in the American legal system,” the statement added. “The presumption of innocence, a bedrock in the search for justice, was trampled upon at the expense of Mr. Smollett and notably, on the eve of a Mayoral election,” it added.
Smollett was taken into custody Thursday morning and charged with filing a false police report regarding an alleged hate-crime hoax.
Read the full report here.
CHICAGO PD: Smollett Staged Attack, Sent Letter Because ‘He was Dissatisfied with Salary’
New details continued to emerge surrounding ‘Empire’ actor Jussie Smollett’s arrest Thursday, with the Chicago Police Department saying the celebrity “staged” the attack because he was “dissatisfied with his salary.”
“JUST IN: Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson: Jussie Smollett ‘paid $3,500 to stage this attack…The stunt was orchestrated by Smollett because he was dissatisfied with his salary,” posted ABC News.
JUST IN: Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson: Jussie Smollett "paid $3,500 to stage this attack…The stunt was orchestrated by Smollett because he was dissatisfied with his salary." https://t.co/5AiMcfe6iH pic.twitter.com/0za7CEbVtv
— ABC News (@ABC) February 21, 2019
“Smollett attempted to gain attention by sending a false letter that relied on racial, homophobic, and political language. When that didn’t’ work Smollett paid $3,500 to stage this attack… Why? The stunt was orchestrated by Smollett because he was dissatisfied with his salary,” confirmed the police department.
GERALDO ON HANNITY: Jussie Smollett ‘PLAYED US’
Fox News’ commentator Geraldo Rivera stopped by ‘Hannity’ Tuesday night to weigh-in on the ongoing controversy surrounding actor Jussie Smollett; saying the ‘Empire’ star “played us” by potentially perpetrating a hate-crime hoax.
“This guy played us. Race and racism and politics are inexplicably interwoven… African-Americans tend to gravitate towards the Democratic Party in huge numbers. A charge like this is so incendiary because it justified and re-affirmed the stereotype that people had,” said Rivera.
“The whole scenario with the noose and the bleach and invoking the President’s name. It was so patently obvious… yet we bought this guy’s unbelievable tale,” he added.
Watch Geraldo on Hannity above.
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