Former 'Empire' actor Jussie Smollett indicted by special prosecutor in Chicago
Source: ABC News
Former "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett was indicted Tuesday by a special prosecutor in Chicago investigating allegations he bogusly reported being the victim of a January 2019 hate-crime attack, officials said.
Smollett, 37, was indicted by special prosecutor Dan Webb, who was appointed by a Cook County judge to continue looking into his false allegations after the Cook County States Attorney Office dropped all charges against the actor, a source close to Smollett told ABC news.
The Cook County Clerk's Office confirmed to ABC station WLS-TV in Chicago that Smollett had been indicted.
Developing..
Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/empire-actor-jussie-smollett-indicted-special-prosecutor-chicago/story?id=68918453
CurtEastPoint
(18,639 posts)marble falls
(57,077 posts)jberryhill
(62,444 posts)marble falls
(57,077 posts)rpannier
(24,329 posts)marble falls
(57,077 posts)can afford to waste resources on this.
Skittles
(153,150 posts)yup
marble falls
(57,077 posts)Quackers
(2,256 posts)The only reason he got out of charges before was because hes rich and a celebrity. If youre so sure he learned his lesson, why does he keep saying he didnt do it? He should be subject to the same laws as the poor and average person.
marble falls
(57,077 posts)more than 40% of homicides in Chicago yet?
Quackers
(2,256 posts)Youre right, Chicago does have a lot homicides. And instead of having police resources working them, they had to divert their attention to Jussies accusations. He is a gay minority celebrity who claimed a hate crime was committed against him. Why shouldnt the false accusations he made be investigated with as much vigor as his original accusations?
marble falls
(57,077 posts)on the streets for years before Smollett was even born. You don't think this has a bigger effect than Smollett???
Tell me the part about Smollett upsetting race relations in Chicago again.
Quackers
(2,256 posts)The majority of society disagrees and have acted on the law. Im not going to argue anymore. Theres no point.
MicaelS
(8,747 posts)Is that what you are saying?
marble falls
(57,077 posts)MicaelS
(8,747 posts)So no, you win the prize.
Jose Garcia
(2,593 posts)Those are resources that could have been used to investigate murders.
marble falls
(57,077 posts)less than the cost to do even the initial investigation. Why waste even more resources?????
Jose Garcia
(2,593 posts)marble falls
(57,077 posts)to file a raft of false reports. Interesting.
LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)Jose Garcia
(2,593 posts)X_Digger
(18,585 posts)What crimes might have been solved had some number of officers, detectives, and administrative staff hadn't been chasing this false story?
It's asinine to think that police resources are infinite.
Pulling resources away on a wild goose chase hurts the community generally, and possibly someone specific.
The fact that you seem to ignore this.. is kinda disgusting.
marble falls
(57,077 posts)the prosecutor's office, the courts are involved in this incident that had no victims. There are murders and rapes they could be investigating but aren't because of this wasteful and useless prosecution.
X_Digger
(18,585 posts)I see, it's not inadvertent, it's intentional, apparently.
marble falls
(57,077 posts)because of a useless prosecution?
NO VICTIM, NO FOUL!!!
X_Digger
(18,585 posts)Maybe a murderer is running free because of this idiot's stunt. Maybe a drunk driver killed some kid because the police didn't pull him over, because they were canvassing for witnesses on the other side of town.
If that were your family member who were killed, would you still parrot, "NO VICTIM, NO FOUL!!!"?
I rather suspect not. But you get on with your intentional obtuseness.
It's transparent now, and everyone gets to see it.
marble falls
(57,077 posts)other than Jesse Smollett who was hurt by this.
Why do you want to take even more police work taken away from the people: for what purpose??? And add to that a prosecutor's office, the courts, the judges and juries. Why???
X_Digger
(18,585 posts)Do you really want me to list every murder, every assault, every pedestrian killed or injured by a drunk driver while this farce of an investigation was going on?
Is your intentional obtuseness that obscene?
Let's see. It started on January 22 when Smollett reported a threatening letter laced with a powder, later determined to be tylenol. Fast forward to March 8, when a grand jury indicted Smollett.
Let's just take that period, shall we? (And that's me being generous.)
Homicides:
Fred Brown, 61 years old
Ambriana Collins, 24 years old
Mohammed Rafati, 39 years old
Adrien Campos, 21 years old
Ninaa Edwards, 23 years old
Darrien Wilson, 31 years old
Jeremy Carothers, 39 years old
Marvin Powell, 36 years old
Anthony White, 32 years old
Riel Jones, 32 years old
Deontae Davenport, 22 years old
Lawrence Lee, 47 years old
Tyrell Carr, 26 years old
Von Lindsey, 25 years old
Donavin Harris, 20 years old
Terrance Hale, 26 years old
Erick Alverez-Coronel, 16 years old
Phillip Robinson, 30 years old
Eugene Johnson, 27 years old
Luis Aguilar, 27 years old
Cordero Weathers, 23 years old
Michael Elam, 17 years old
Sebastian Morales, 18 years old
Douglas Robinson, 57 years old
Inagua Bray, 40 years old
Jimmy Washington, 39 years old
Antoine Grant, 34 years old
Elisa Corona Vargas, 47 years old
Emanuel Gallegos, 17 years old
Ryan Hoffman, 32 years old
Terry Green, 25 years old
Michael John Ruby, 32 years old
Jasmine Reese, 22 years old
Kelly Bell, 25 years old
Thurman Bailey, 28 years old
How many of these folks' family consider Smollett's fucking stunt a victimless crime?
How many of these folks might be alive, or their killers found, if they weren't chasing a high profile imaginary assault assailant?
It's harder to find drunk driving victims in the same timeframe, but since the search results turn up MANY results, I'm assuming the number is not zero.
Go ahead, tell me again, that there were NO VICTIMS due to Smollett's asinine criminal adventure.
Go ahead. I double dog dare ya.
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)I happen to think there should be consequences for that sort of thing.
Saying there are murders in Chicago, therefore any crime short of that should be suspended is just silly.
Im pretty sure they write parking tickets in Chicago too.
So, pay the meter. Because when you get your parking ticket, I dont think you are going to have a good argument.
marble falls
(57,077 posts)1. People use 911 to order pizza which is not what Smottlett did, but what the heck do you think they would have been gone over like Smollett was? I do not believe the CPD has 'false report' squad.
2. I never said as a blanket stop to a high murder rate don't ticket litterers. Though that is why some authorities don't prosecute minor drug violations, it takes too many cops off the street and fills jails needlessly.
3, I pay for my parking and traffic tickets and I recommend everyone do so. That said: prosecuting Smollett any further is mean spirited and wastes time and police resources on a charge that's small potatoes, that isn't likely to start a whole wave of false reports, that hurts no one except maybe Smolletts career.
JustABozoOnThisBus
(23,338 posts)I don't think the department will send teams of detectives to investigate. They might send a social worker to see if I need some kind of help.
Progressive Jones
(6,011 posts)He wasted the resources of law enforcement.
He lied, and used racism to doll it up.
He got a bunch of people to feel sorry for him with his bullshit stunt.
He has to be held accountable.
Pisces
(5,599 posts)Crime in these volatile times so that you can make more money on a terrible show is crazy. I dont think he should go to jail, but what if his stupid stunt had spawned retaliation crimes? What if someone got hurt through this retaliation. He would be responsible and could have been charged and sued for inciting those crimes. He is affluenza kid in black skin. Both cases are sickening.
marble falls
(57,077 posts)Disorderly Conduct
720 ilcs 26-1(a)(4)
" (a) A person commits disorderly conduct when he knowingly:
(4) Transmits or causes to be transmitted in any manner to any peace officer, public officer or public employee a report to the effect that an offense will be committed, is being committed, or has been committed, knowing at the time of such transmission that there is no reasonable ground for believing that such an offense will be committed, is being committed, or has been committed"
also can be these subsections,
(11) Transmits or causes to be transmitted a false
report to any public safety agency without the reasonable grounds necessary to believe that transmitting such a report is necessary for the safety and welfare of the public; or
(12) Calls the number "911" for the purpose of making
or transmitting a false alarm or complaint and reporting information when, at the time the call or transmission is made, the person knows there is no reasonable ground for making the call or transmission and further knows that the call or transmission could result in the emergency response of any public safety agency; or
(13) Transmits or causes to be transmitted a threat
of destruction of a school building or school property, or a threat of violence, death, or bodily harm directed against persons at a school, school function, or school event, whether or not school is in session.
(b) Sentence. A violation of subsection (a)(1) of this Section is a Class C misdemeanor. A violation of subsection (a)(5) or (a)(11) of this Section is a Class A misdemeanor. A violation of subsection (a)(8) or (a)(10) of this Section is a Class B misdemeanor. A violation of subsection (a)(2), (a)(4), (a)(7), (a)(9), (a)(12), or (a)(13) of this Section is a Class 4 felony. A violation of subsection (a)(3) of this Section is a Class 3 felony, for which a fine of not less than $3,000 and no more than $10,000 shall be assessed in addition to any other penalty imposed.
Source(s): Retired Illinois cop
You're under arrest!
Fullduplexxx
(7,857 posts)marble falls
(57,077 posts)level of any one thing Trump has on any one of his slow days.
demofan40
(45 posts)It seemed to be a huge deal when people thought he was actually attacked.
Why brush it under the carpet now that it turned out to be a hoax? It makes a mockery out of people like Heather Heyer.
marble falls
(57,077 posts)are worse today because of Jesse Smollett.
So its OK to compare Smollett to Trump? Trump is compared to Hitler, so Jesse Smollett is ....
No one got hurt. There's no way this incident helped his career. Enough is enough. Don't waste anymore tax dollars on this.
Bernardo de La Paz
(48,996 posts)... Smollett has damaged everyone else who has ACTUALLY been a victim. He has damaged their credibility.
All such claims will get harder scrutiny which means that some perpetrators will be released in similar cases.
All witnesses in such cases will have a harder time on the stand.
Juries will be less likely to believe victims who have ACTUALLY suffered violence like Smollett falsely claimed.
If you want to support the United States of America justice system to take down tRump, then you have to support it when it investigates and prosecutes crimes which bring that justice system into disrepute the way Smollett has tried to do.
If you want the American Public to believe a verdict against tRump, then you have to support the justice system defending itself against the attacks on its integrity.
Jamastiene
(38,187 posts)Actual victims will not get justice if people are allowed to make false claims and get away with it. False allegations will neuter hate crimes laws, because actual victims will be ignored as potentially another one making false allegations.
Off topic: I like those bumper stickers in your signature line, btw.
marble falls
(57,077 posts)to see Smollett "punished" beyond what the law calls for:
Disorderly Conduct
720 ilcs 26-1(a)(4)
" (a) A person commits disorderly conduct when he knowingly:
(4) Transmits or causes to be transmitted in any manner to any peace officer, public officer or public employee a report to the effect that an offense will be committed, is being committed, or has been committed, knowing at the time of such transmission that there is no reasonable ground for believing that such an offense will be committed, is being committed, or has been committed"
also can be these subsections,
(11) Transmits or causes to be transmitted a false
report to any public safety agency without the reasonable grounds necessary to believe that transmitting such a report is necessary for the safety and welfare of the public; or
(12) Calls the number "911" for the purpose of making
or transmitting a false alarm or complaint and reporting information when, at the time the call or transmission is made, the person knows there is no reasonable ground for making the call or transmission and further knows that the call or transmission could result in the emergency response of any public safety agency; or
(13) Transmits or causes to be transmitted a threat
of destruction of a school building or school property, or a threat of violence, death, or bodily harm directed against persons at a school, school function, or school event, whether or not school is in session.
(b) Sentence. A violation of subsection (a)(1) of this Section is a Class C misdemeanor. A violation of subsection (a)(5) or (a)(11) of this Section is a Class A misdemeanor. A violation of subsection (a)(8) or (a)(10) of this Section is a Class B misdemeanor. A violation of subsection (a)(2), (a)(4), (a)(7), (a)(9), (a)(12), or (a)(13) of this Section is a Class 4 felony. A violation of subsection (a)(3) of this Section is a Class 3 felony, for which a fine of not less than $3,000 and no more than $10,000 shall be assessed in addition to any other penalty imposed.
Source(s): Retired Illinois cop
If anything the case show that fake reports are sussed out in two or three days exactly the way CPD already solved the crime.
The issue is what is the correct punishment which is usually drop the charges if they weren't made in connection with another crime.
Not every crime even when arrests are made are prosecuted, even ones where there is bodily or property harm because the PD or prosecutors decide not to prosecute.
As for your name calling: I think its more Trumpian to go after a nothing nuisance case asking for more punishment that the law calls for and ignore all other crimes like murder, rape. burglary, larceny, assault ... you know, where's there's a clear victim, one with a name with clear damage.
Bernardo de La Paz
(48,996 posts)Your straw man was your attempt to claim that people were arguing Smollett had damaged race relations in Chicago. You set that claim up like a straw man and then knocked it down. Nobody in this sub thread was arguing that. If somebody was in another part of the thread, then you need to edit your post and take your argument there.
marble falls
(57,077 posts)further than it was.
My claim is: Smollett has been prosecuted enough.
a. he was investigated and the prosecution decided there was no there, there.
b. the law itself doesn't call for the depth of prosecution some here want with punishment not called for in the law.
c. there are better uses of police/prosecutors/court resources for crimes that actually have victims.
d. There is no point prosecuting this for its bad effect on race relations. Because race relations are abysmal alread and didn't have a thing to with Jesse Smollett.
There is no strawman here except for the further prosecution of Smollett for all the bad reasons to prosecute him I listed above.
There certainly is no reason to prosecute because it damages the cops:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_Chicago
Public corruption and political crime
Chicago has a long history of public corruption that regularly draws the attention of federal law enforcement and federal prosecutors.[85] Chicago's political landscape has been firmly under the control of the <delete> for over 85 years and has been widely described as a political machine.[86][87][88][89] In the 1980s, the FBI's Operation Greylord uncovered massive and systemic corruption in Chicago's judicial system. Greylord was the longest and most successful undercover operation in the history of the FBI, and resulted in 92 federal indictments, including 17 judges, 48 lawyers, eight policemen, 10 deputy sheriffs, eight court officials, and one state legislator. Nearly all were convicted on a variety of charges including bribery, kickbacks, fraud, vote buying, racketeering, and drug trafficking.[90][91][92]
The late 1980s and 1990s saw further efforts by the FBI to prosecute Chicago's public crime syndicates. Operation Incubator obtained about a dozen convictions or guilty pleas, including those from five members of the City Council and an aide to former Mayor Harold Washington.[93] Later Operation Gambat brought a wide range of charges against a Chicago judge, a state senator, an alderman, and two others relating to corruption in the Cook County Circuit Court, the Illinois Senate, and the Chicago City Council. Four were convicted and a fifth died during trial.[94] The most extensive operation by the FBI of the 1990s, Operation Silver Shovel, sought to uncover corruption within Chicago labor unions, organized crime, and other city government officials. Operation Silver Shovel resulted in the conviction of 6 Chicago Alderman and a dozen other local officials on a wide range of corruption related charges.[94][95][96]
From 2019 to 2012, 33 Chicago aldermen were convicted on corruption charges, a conviction rate of roughly one third of those elected in the time period. A report from the Office of the Legislative Inspector General noted that over half of Chicago's elected alderman took illegal campaign contributions in 2013.[97] In 2015, mayor appointed Barbara Byrd-Bennett, the CEO of Chicago Public Schools, was convicted in a $23 million kickback scheme and was sentenced to seven and-a-half years in prison.[98] In addition to the Bennett conviction, a joint investigative report issued by the Office of the Inspector General and federal authorities documented widespread corruption within Chicago Public Schools in 2015. The audit noted the criminal shakedown of a CPS vendor, a records falsification scheme by a principal, numerous instances of employees abusing CPS's tax-exempt status to purchase personal items at big-box retailers, illegally using taxpayer-funded resources to campaign for political causes and stealing from taxpayer-funded accounts intended for purchasing student materials.[99]
A 2015 report released by the University of Illinois at Chicago's political science department declared Chicago the "corruption capital of America", citing that the Chicago-based Federal Judicial District for Northern Illinois reported 45 public corruption convictions for 2013 and a total of 1,642 convictions for the 38 years since 1976 when the U.S. Department of Justice began compiling the statistics. UIC Professor and former Chicago Alderman Dick Simpson noted in the report that "To end corruption, society needs to do more than convict the guys that get caught. A comprehensive anti-corruption strategy must be forged and carried out over at least a decade. A new political culture in which public corruption is no longer tolerated must be created".[100][101]
The FBI's Chicago division.
Examples of other high-profile Chicago political figures convicted on corruption related charges include Rod Blagojevich, Jesse Jackson Jr., Isaac Carothers, Arenda Troutman, Edward Vrdolyak, Otto Kerner, Jr., Constance Howard, Fred Roti and Dan Rostenkowski.
In October 2015, the FBI announced that Michael Anderson would be taking over for a retiring Robert Holley as Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Bureau. Anderson, a corruption veteran who wrote the FBI Public Corruption Field Guide, called Chicago "target rich" for cases in an interview with the Chicago Tribune. Anderson commands a team of 850 agents in Chicago along with analysts and support staff.[102][103]
Most corruption cases in Chicago are prosecuted by the US Attorney's office, as legal jurisdiction makes most offenses punishable as a federal crime.[104] The current US Attorney for the Northern district of Illinois is Zachary T. Fardon.[105] In a press conference in January 2016, in the wake of the conviction of former Chicago City Hall official, John Bills, for taking $2 million in bribes, Fardon commented "Public corruption [in Chicago] is a disease and where public officials violate the public trust, we have to hold them accountable. And I do believe that by doing so, it sends a deterrent message."[106][107]
Please tell me how where Jesse Smollett fits into that? How is it that a false report is worse than selective prosecution or an arrest developing over false evidence ginned by the police.
Smollett did what he did. No one got hurt over it, it certainly hasn't seemed to help his career a bit. No one was hurt. The case was already in the heand of prosecutors and they declined to prosecute. The CPD just wants to slam dunk Smollett to let him know he can't beat the CPD. Talk about a Trumpian misuse of power.
Bernardo de La Paz
(48,996 posts)marble falls
(57,077 posts)power and it is for a crime that generally gets dropped if there are no other crimes attached.
You all need to take a look at why it is you really want to see this guy "punished". Even the law doesn't look to lock him up and only has a fine not over $10,000.
discntnt_irny_srcsm
(18,479 posts)This is damage control.
marble falls
(57,077 posts)discntnt_irny_srcsm
(18,479 posts)...but that's not the REAL motivation for pursuing prosecution.
Pisces
(5,599 posts)Fullduplexxx
(7,857 posts)csziggy
(34,136 posts)So they want to make a point that he won't just get a "Please don't do it again."
Bernardo de La Paz
(48,996 posts)Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)Nor are we allowed to cite this case the next time a white person makes a false claim to police and gets off with no punishment.
cstanleytech
(26,283 posts)career plus to his freedom imo should have been a good enough deterrent you would think.
Skittles
(153,150 posts)that's what he should have done - accepted responsibility and get some help
Jose Garcia
(2,593 posts)oldsoftie
(12,531 posts)And, buying into his own perceived importance, figured he was smart enough to not get caught. And this would het him national exposure he thought eluded him. Which that part may have been true; I never heard of him before the incident. Which is why i knew it was faked.
demofan40
(45 posts)This is nothing to play around with when the President of the United States is inciting division, bigotry and violence on a daily basis.
marble falls
(57,077 posts)that actually have been rising since before Smollett made his claim? How does that work?
Beakybird
(3,332 posts)Smollet tied up resources that could have gone towards reducing crime in Chicago. By making a false accusation, he gave ammunition to racists, and he made it more difficult for future victims to have their story believed.
He did this to raise his salary. To take advantage of people's sympathy for his own selfish ends was a real sick move.
marble falls
(57,077 posts)of cops and prosecutors, and judges and juries such a great idea????
And if that wasn't his argument then why'd he even bring up "fake racial attacks"? Ask him that when you see him next.
Smollett tied up resources and you want those same resources wasted even longer for a fine that won't even equal a tenth of the costs of the initial investigations alone.
Meanwhile murders, rapes, purse snatchings aren't being investigated.
Beakybird
(3,332 posts)You're basically saying that it's perfectly ok to make false police reports, and there should be no consequences because tying up resources and abusing people's trust isn't a violent crime.
marble falls
(57,077 posts)more:
Jesse Smollett
or
the cop who shot an complying, unarmed black teenager in the street, hitting him with 16 rounds from two clips.
Skittles
(153,150 posts)stop acting like Smollett is a victim - HE WAS NOT AND IS NOT.
marble falls
(57,077 posts)I was told Smollett "hurt" race relations. I'm saying that is patently untrue. It doesn't even show up on the race relations hurt chart.
I've never said Smottlet was a victim, what I am saying is this prosecution is stupid and wasteful and in fact makes worse one of the claims someone or another keeps pointing out: the fact cops wasted a small pieces of time on it originally and now are spending even more time and much more resources on making it worse.
Helps if one reads the whole thread.
underpants
(182,772 posts)marble falls
(57,077 posts)Jesse Smollet for President bandwagon, are ya? Please, please say it ain't true.
underpants
(182,772 posts)and now this.
marble falls
(57,077 posts)underpants
(182,772 posts)Drug BizCzar?
marble falls
(57,077 posts)oldsoftie
(12,531 posts)he doesnt even see the damage he's done to people who REALLY get attacked being believed
marble falls
(57,077 posts)Beakybird
(3,332 posts)Would the shoe be on the same foot if it was a white actor falsely claiming a hate crime by people dressed with Black Lives Matter insignia?
marble falls
(57,077 posts)how much fake race related attacks have there been?
I can point out real assault figures, murder rate, number of grannies relived of their handbags, the shoplifters of mom and pop stores.
All you got is Jesse Smollett and some imaginary victims no one can identify.
oldsoftie
(12,531 posts)Because they're already scared enough, and now they're scared they wont be believed because of this ass
HarlanPepper
(2,042 posts)Hey, he did some illegal stuff but you know, nobody was affected so, its like, whatever.
marble falls
(57,077 posts)is murder as bad as making a false report? The prosecution is out of whack with the charges.
What do you think the correct punishment should be?
Devil Child
(2,728 posts)Hope it was worth it Jussie!
Response to Calista241 (Original post)
Judi Lynn This message was self-deleted by its author.
rocktivity
(44,576 posts)Last edited Sat Dec 11, 2021, 10:28 AM - Edit history (16)
prosecutor Kim Foxx should have dismissed -- not dropped -- the charges with no punishment of any kind and returned Smollett's bond money if she found the police investigation to be either too improper or too incompetent to ensure a guilty verdict. Instead, Foxx cut a first-offender plea deal for Smollett though he was NOT a first offender.
rocktivity
ripcord
(5,346 posts)Smollett was just a bonus, since Smollett is being charged you can expect much worse for Kim Foxx. Smollett shouldn't walk because of the misconduct of a prosecutor.
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)all because someone got a slap on the wrist over a false claim??
Hell, send these fucking people after Trump next, then!