The jury began deliberating Wednesday in the trial of Jussie Smollett on charges that he orchestrated a hate crime against himself in 2019 in Chicago.
No verdict was reached, and jurors will get back at it on Thursday.
Actor Jussie Smollett, right, departs with his mother Janet, from the Leighton Criminal Courthouse on Wednesday, in Chicago. (Nam Y. Huh/)
The case became a he-said-they-said between Smollett, the “Empire” star on trial, and brothers Abimbola and Olabingo Osundairo, originally the suspected attackers who said Smollett paid them to do it.
The Osundairos testified last week, saying Smollett paid them $3,500 for the January 2019 attack. Smollett testified Monday and Tuesday, saying the money was for a workout plan prior to a music video. Both points were repeated Wednesday in closing arguments.
Special Prosecutor Dan Webb said Smollett was lying about his motivations and attempting to deceive the jury. Smollett’s defense attorney Nenye Uche called the Osundairos “sophisticated liars” and said they hatched a plan to fake a crime after police first arrested them in February 2019.
Attorney Gloria Schmidt Rodriguez, center, walks with her clients Abimbola Osundairo, left, and Olabinjo Osundairo, as they arrive at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse to testify in the trial of actor Jussie Smollett Thursday, Dec. 2, in Chicago. (Charles Rex Arbogast/)
Smollett, who claims he was attacked in downtown Chicago on Jan. 29. 2019, told police his assailants shouted racist and homophobic slurs while throwing a noose around his neck and telling him he was in “MAGA country.” Prosecutors said Smollett was trying to get executives at Fox to take real threats against him more seriously and speculated he was upset about his role on “Empire.”
Video showed the Osundairos meeting with Smollett in his car and driving around his block three times prior to the attack. Prosecutors said they were planning the fake assault in a “dry run.” Smollett said he often drove around his car while making music and smoking weed; his attorneys implied there would be security footage of many such laps around his apartment.
Webb asked why the brothers would be near Smollett’s downtown apartment at 2 a.m. on a winter night if it wasn’t all part of a plan. Uche said they must’ve had it out for the “Empire” star and were “casing him” by arriving 40 minutes early.
Prosecutors said Smollett should’ve cooperated more with police in the initial investigation. Cops said he refused to submit a DNA sample or provide injury records. Smollett testified that he didn’t trust Chicago police. His attorneys noted he’d already given a DNA sample to the FBI to help investigate a threatening letter sent to his apartment.
Jussie Smollett is pictured in a screen grab from police body cam footage the night of the alleged attack with rope around his neck.
Smollett said he had a sexual relationship with Abimbola Osundairo, but Osunairo denied such a relationship earlier in the trial.
Webb said Smollett “lacks any credibility whatsoever.” Uche called the prosecution’s case “a house of cards.”
The attention around the Smollett case far outweighs the potential punishment. While Smollett faces up to three years in prison if convicted, legal experts have predicted he’ll be fined and forced to perform community service.
Smollett already did 16 hours of community service in exchange for the initial charges being dropped in a March 2019 plea deal. That deal upset then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago police so much that a special prosecutor, Webb, was appointed.
Smollett was not protected by double jeopardy because he never admitted wrongdoing. He maintained his innocence throughout the entire three-year legal process.