Jussie Smollett Walks Out of Jail On Bond Pending Appeal Over Homophobic Crime Hoax Conviction

Jussie Smollett was sentenced to 150 days in jail for lying to the police in 2019 about being attacked by two men who he alleged hurled racist and homophobic remarks at him and doused him with an “unknown chemical substance." It was later determined that the gay black actor had staged the assault.

Black actor Jussie Smollett has been released from a Chicago jail pending the appeal of his conviction for lying to police about a racist and homophobic attack on him back in 2019.

An appeals court had ordered the release after Smollett spent six nights behind bars, with the former actor leaving Cook County Jail without offering any comment to reporters.

However, Smollett defense attorney Nenye Uche, stopped outside the jail to say that Smollett’s family was “very, very happy with today’s developments.” Uche added that during his time behind bars Smollett had not eaten and drank only water, without clarifying why.

The attorney slammed the special prosecutor’s decision to charge Smollett after the initial charges were dropped by Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and he paid a fine.

According to Nenye Uche his client’s sentencing was overly excessive for a low-level felony.

“The real question is: Should Black men be walked into jail for a class 4 felony? Shame on you if you think they should,” said Uche.

The American actor, best known for his role in the television series “Empire,” was convicted by Judge James Linn on 10 March on five felony counts of disorderly conduct for lying to police, and sentenced to 30 months of felony probation, including 150 days in jail. He was also ordered to pay restitution of more than $120,000 and a $25,000 fine for making false reports to police.

Smollett, who is Black and gay, who had maintained his innocence during the trial, appealed his conviction.

After the sentencing, Smollett told the judge:

"Your honor, I respect you and I respect the jury, but I did not do this… And I am not suicidal. And if anything happens to me when I go in there, I did not do it to myself. And you must all know that."

As Jussie Smollett's lawyers filed a motion to have him released from jail pending his appeal, they claimed he had become "the target" of vicious threats in social media forums, in a filing cited by Fox News Digital.

"Mr. Smollett anticipates he will most likely be assigned to segregated incarceration or protective custody, both euphemisms for solitary confinement; a situation which could have extraordinary damage on his mental health… As a result, any custodial setting poses a safety and health danger to the life of Mr. Smollett," said the motion.

The ‘Hate’ Crime That Wasn’t

Jussie Smollett, 39, was found guilty in December of making false reports to the Chicago police about what he claimed had been an anti-gay and anti-Black hate crime against him.

Actor Jussie Smollett, center, arrives Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021, at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse for day two of his trial in Chicago.

© AP Photo / Charles Rex Arbogast

According to the man, in January 2019 two unknown perpetrators wearing ski masks attacked him, shouting racist and homophobic slurs at him, poured an “unknown chemical substance" on him and wrapped a noose around his neck.

After the report generated broad traction, celebrities and politicians rushed to defend him publicly while Chicago police investigated the possible hate crime.

However, it was later established that Smollett had orchestrated the incident himself for publicity’s sake, paying two brothers he knew from the Fox drama "Empire" to help him pull off the stunt.