Jussie Smollett found guilty of fake hate crime.

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CHICAGO (AP) — Former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett was convicted Thursday on five of six charges he staged an anti-gay, racist attack on himself nearly three years ago and then lied to Chicago police about it.

He was acquitted on one count.

The verdict came after a roughly one-week trial in which two brothers testified that Smollett recruited them to fake an attack on him near his home in downtown Chicago in January 2019. Smollett repeatedly denied the claims. The brothers said Smollett orchestrated the hoax, telling them to put a noose around his neck and rough him up in view of a surveillance camera, and that he said he wanted video of the hoax made public via social media.

Smollett called the brothers “liars” and said their account was “100% false. He testified over two days about being the victim of what he said was a hate crime, telling the jury ”there was no hoax.”

Would you like to get beat up?

Getting beat up is not a walk in the park.

This article doesn't discuss the actual evidence in any detail, nor had I been following this case previously, so I don't have an opinion as to whether this was a hoax or not. I have no idea how the police came to the conclusion it was a hoax.

To those here who do have an opinion about it, one way or the other: hopefully you have studied the evidence in detail?

This article doesn't discuss the actual evidence in any detail, nor had I been following this case previously, so I don't have an opinion as to whether this was a hoax or not. I have no idea how the police came to the conclusion it was a hoax.

To those here who do have an opinion about it, one way or the other: hopefully you have studied the evidence in detail?

Key moments in the trial

The criminal trial began on November 29 and testimony lasted for just over a week. Both the defense and the prosecution called seven witnesses each.

The stars of the prosecution's case were the Osundairo brothers, who were extras on the "Empire" TV show. They each testified that Smollett directed them and paid them to stage the attack in an attempt to get media attention.

Bola Osundairo, who was closer to Smollett, told the court that Smollett "wanted me to fake beat him up." He said he agreed to do so because he felt indebted to the actor.

"I believed he could help further my acting career," Bola Osundairo testified. "He told me that we would need another person to fake beat him up. He mentioned could my brother do it. I said yes."

His brother Ola Osundairo told jurors that Smollett "had this crazy idea of having two MAGA supporters attack him," and that he wanted "to put that on social media."

"Mr. Smollett asked you to fake attack him?" deputy special prosecutor Sam Mendenhall asked.

"Yes," Ola Osundairo responded.

"Pretending to be Trump supporters?" Mendenhall continued.

"Yes," Ola Osundairo said.

"So he could then post it on social media?" the prosecutor continued.

"Yes," Ola Osundairo answered.

As per their plan, the brothers met Smollett at about 2 a.m. by his apartment during a cold snap known as a "polar vortex," they testified. There, as he had instructed, they yelled "Empire, f****t, n***er, MAGA," fake punched him, poured bleach on him and put a noose around his neck, they testified.

"If you had not had advanced discussions with Jussie Smollett how would you know where he would be at 2 a.m. in a polar vortex?" special prosecutor Dan Webb asked.

"I wouldn't," Bola Osundairo responded.

The defense, however, has repeatedly said Smollett was a real victim of an attack. They have suggested that the brothers were motivated by homophobia and/or an attempt to scare Smollett into hiring them as security.

Smollett took the stand to lay out his version of events. He emphatically said he did not plan the attack ahead of time and said he paid the brothers $3,500 for training and nutritional advice -- not for any hoax attack.

"Have you ever planned a hoax?" his attorney asked.

"Never in my life," Smollett said.

He also cast doubt on the brothers' true motivations. He said he received a "hate letter" in the mail at the "Empire" studio in Chicago on January 22, 2019, seven days before the alleged attack. Afterward, Bola Osundairo approached him about becoming his personal security guard, something Osundairo had repeatedly asked him, Smollett testified.

In addition, he testified that he formed a sexual relationship with Bola Osundairo but said he was "creeped out" by Ola Osundairo. Bola Osundairo denied he had any sexual relationship with Smollett.

Why didn't he take a plea bargain since it seems he didn't have a chance of winning?

He should have blamed the attack on..."a small foreign faction".

That story seems to work better!

Not sure that it "works"

But I guess some people will look for anything to try and achieve relevence or feel important - Unfortunately, the only thing false assertions such as these do is to devalue the seriousness of those occasions when an event does occur.