Actor Jussie Smollett is scheduled to return to court in Chicago today to learn if a judge will order him to serve prison time after he was convicted for lying to police and staging an attack.
In January 2019, Smollett reported to police that he was the victim of a hate crime, alleging that two men yelled racial and homophobic slurs at him and tried to wrap a noose around his neck in Chicago.
According to the Chicago Tribune, the former Empire actor faces up to three years in prison for each of the five felony counts of disorderly conduct that he was convicted of last year. Part of the December trial included the testimony of two brothers, Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, who told jurors Smollett paid them $3,500 to carry out the attack, with a promise of an additional $500 later.
Because he doesn’t have an extensive criminal history and the conviction is for a low-level nonviolent crime, court observers do not think that Smollett will serve any prison time.
In February, Judge James Linn ruled that news cameras will be allowed in the courtroom at the Leighton Criminal Court Building for sentencing.
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