2:25
- ABC News
- December 9, 2021
Timeline of the Jussie Smollett trial
The ongoing probe has been replete with one stunning twist after another.
2:25
Meanwhile, 20th Century Fox Television and Fox Entertainment continue to stand by the embattled \"Empire\" actor, and continue to deny reports that he was or is being written off the hit show. \"Jussie Smollett continues to a consummate professional on set and we have previously stated, he is not being written out of the show.\"
Feb. 21, 2019: Smollett turned himself in to Chicago police to face a felony charge of filing a false report, a crime that, if convicted, could put him in jail for one to three years.
In an emotional press conference, Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson blasted Smollett on Thursday in which he said that Smollett's alleged staging of a hoax attack was a \"publicity stunt...to promote his career.\"
\"Jussie Smollett took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career,\" Johnson said. “I am left hanging my head asking ‘why?’. Why would anyone, especially an African-American man, use the symbolism of a noose to make false accusations? ... How can an individual who's been embraced by the city of Chicago turn around and slap everyone in the city in the face with these false claims?\"
Johnson charged that Smollett, an actor on the hit show 'Empire' who has consistently denied any role in staging the alleged attack, orchestrated it because he was \"dissatisfied with his salary.\"
In a new statement on Thursday, 20th Century Fox Television and Fox Entertainment officials said that \"[w]e understand the seriousness of this matter and we respect the legal process. We are evaluating the situation and we are considering our options.\"
March 8, 2019: The Cook County State Attorney's Office announces that the previous day a grand jury indicted \"Empire\" actor Jussie Smollett on 16 felony counts of disorderly conduct for filing a false police report, according to the Cook County State Attorney's Office.
The grand jury returned two separate sets of charges, Robert Foley, a senior advisor in the state attorney's office told ABC News.
The first set is related to what Smollett told officers about the alleged attack, including that the attackers called him racial and homophobic slurs, struck him with their hands, put a noose around his neck, and poured some sort of chemical substance on him.
The second set of charges are related to the second interview Smollett had with police about the alleged attack later that day.
March 26, 2019: At an emergency hearing in a Cook County courtroom in Illinois, all criminal charges against Smollett were dropped.
\"Jussie was attacked by two people he was unable to identify on January 29th,\" his attorneys, Tina Glandian and Patricia Brown Holmes, said in a statement. \"He was a victim who was vilified and made to appear as a perpetrator as a result of fake and inappropriate remarks made to the public causing an inappropriate rush to judgement.
\"Jussie and many others were hurt by these unfair and unwarranted actions. This entire situation is a reminder that there should never be an attempt to prove a case in the court of public opinion. That is wrong. It is a reminder that the victim, in this case Jussie, deserves dignity and respect.\"
\"Jussie is relieved to have this situation behind him and is very much looking forward to getting back to focusing on his family, friends and career.\"
The unanticipated development shocked Chicago, and prompted angry reactions from Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson, who each reiterated their belief that the incident was a hoax -- with Emanuel wondering aloud, \"Is there no decency in this man?\"
The duo went on to accuse to 'Empire' actor of receiving preferential treatment by the Illinois State Attorney's Office.
\"This is without a doubt a whitewash of justice,\" Emanuel said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon. \"There is no accountability. It is wrong, full stop.\"
Johnson said he was surprised to learn of the decision to drop charges against Smollett while attending a police academy graduation with Mayor Emanuel.
A furious Johnson said prosecutors brokered a deal with Smollett in secrecy.
\"I'm sure we all know what happened this morning,\" Johnson said at his press conference. \"Do I think justice was served? No. What do I think justice is? I think this city is owed an apology.\"
\"At the end of the day, it's Mr. Smollett who committed this hoax, period,\" Johnson said. \"I heard that they wanted their day in court ... so America could know the truth, and they chose to hide behind a secrecy of a brokered deal to circumvent the judicial system.\"
Johnson said that he and Emanuel only learned about the charges being dropped when it was announced publicly.
\"We found about it when you all did,\" Johnson said of the lack of notice from the State's Attorney Office regarding the dropped charges. \"I'm sure we'll have some conversation after this. But again at the end of the day Mr. Smollett committed this hoax.\"
Emanuel noted that \"a sliver\" of the evidence was presented to a grand jury, which indicted Smollett. He said Smollett used race and privilege to \"get off scott free\" and that the actor has shown no remorse or accountability for his actions.
“A person using hate crime laws that are on the books to protect people who are minorities, and you turn around and use them to advance your career?\" Emmanuel said. \"Is there no decency in this man?\"
In a subsequent interview with ABC News Chicago station WLS, the prosecutor who dropped the charges against Smollett told ABC News station WLS that he believes Smollett made a false report about being attacked, but decided to drop the charges anyway.
“We stand behind the investigation and the facts revealed,” said Joe Magats, the first assistant state attorney who took over the case when his boss, State Attorney Kim Foxx, recused herself from the probe after it surfaced that she had been in touch with Smollett’s family.
In fact, according to text messages obtained by the Chicago Tribune, Foxx reached out to Johnson and asked him to turn the probe over to the FBI -- though the police department ultimately completed the investigation independently.
“We believe he did was he was charged with what he was doing.” Asked again whether he believes Smollett fabricated the incident, he replied, “yes.”
“This was not an exoneration. To say that he was exonerated by us or anyone is not true.”
In answer to questions about the dropping of the charges, Magats initially suggested that it was a question of resources, and that he decided to drop the charges after determining
“Our goal and our #1 priority is combatting violent crime and the drivers of violence and we look to our resources to do that and I don’t think that Mr. Smollett is a driver of violence or a violent individual.”
Magats also said that he was satisfied with Smollett forfeiting the 10 percent of $100K bond he put up, and completing community service prior to getting the charges dropped.
“In return for forfeiting his bond to the City of Chicago and doing his community service, we agreed to dismiss the charges against him. He did community service for Operation Push.”
May 23, 2019: An Illinois judge rules that records sealed in the \"hoax attack\" criminal case of \"Empire\" cast member Jussie Smollett be made public, ruling that the actor has not displayed the \"actions of a person seeking to maintain his privacy.\"
Cook County Circuit Court Judge Steven G. Watkins ordered that investigative files in the high-profile case be unsealed after ABC News and other media organizations argued that keeping them from public view was a violation of the First Amendment and the public's right of access to court records.
June 21, 2019: Cook County Judge Michael Toomin appoints a special prosecutor to investigate the decision to dismiss all charges against Smollett, opening up the possibility that the actor could being charged again, the Associated Press reports.
Toomin also suggested that Foxx may have mishandled the case by appointing a top aide to oversee it after she recused herself.
June 24, 2019: Police release nearly 70 hours of video in connection to the Smollett investigation, including body camera footage of the actor with a with noose around his neck. The video footage also includes Smollett asking the officers to turn off their recording devices, while another group of clips shows the moment when the police apprehend the two brothers who allege they helped Smollett stage the attack.
Feb. 12, 2020: Smollett, 37, is indicted on six counts of disorderly conduct related to making four separate false reports to Chicago Police Department officers, claiming he was the victim of a hate crime while \"knowing he was not the victim of a crime,\" special prosecutor Dan Webb said in a statement on Tuesday.
Aug. 12, 2020: Despite “substantial abuses of discretion and operational failures” the dismissal of charges against Jussie Smollett Cook County State’s Attorney Kimberly Foxx and her staff did not rise to the level of criminal wrongdoing, according to Special Prosecutor Dan K. Webb.
Nov. 29, 2021: Jury selection for Smollett's trial begins Monday.
Dec. 7, 2021: The defense of Smollett rests its case after two days of emotional testimony by the actor. He alleged on the stand that the Osundario brothers, who had testified the previous week, were lying about their claims that Smollett orchestrated the attack and paid them $3,500 to do so.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/General/jussie-smollett-verdict-02-ap-llr-211209_1639092669361_hpMain_4x3t_384.jpg\")
Dec. 9, 2021: After about 10 hours of deliberations, the jury finds Smollett guilty of five of six counts for filing a false police report related to the attack.
ABC News' Stephanie Wash and Bill Hutchinson contributed to this report.
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