Chicago prosecutors on Tuesday abruptly dropped all charges against alleged hate-crime hoaxer Jussie Smollett with little explanation — a stunning move slammed by the city’s mayor as “a whitewash of justice.”
Smollett — the black, gay star of TV’s “Empire” who in January claimed two masked men beat him in a brutal bias attack, only to find himself accused of paying to stage the run-in — maintained his innocence after the twist, a move that galled Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
“Is there no decency to this man?” seethed Emanuel after the shocking change of course. “This is without a doubt a whitewash of justice.”
But Smollett, 36, tried to spin the surprise reversal of fortune as a natural conclusion due an innocent man. “I’ve been truthful and consistent on every single level since day one,” said the actor after the about-face. “I would not be my mother’s son if I was capable of one drop of what I’ve been accused of.”
Smollett was let off the hook after forfeiting to the city the $10,000 he had coughed up for bail and performing community service, an arrangement one of Smollett’s lawyers, Patricia Brown Holmes, denied was a “deal.” The exchange rendered Emanuel apoplectic, as did Smollett’s alleged bid to boost his public profile at the expense of the black and LGBT communities — and his continued proclamations of innocence.
“A person using hate-crime laws that are on the books to protect people who are minorities, and you turn around and use them to advance your career?” seethed Emanuel in a press conference, flanked by Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson and several stone-faced cops. “How dare he?”
Emanuel also scoffed at the $10,000 bail forfeiture, saying “the financial cost of $10,000 does not even come close to what the city spent on resources” investigating the case — not to mention the damage done to the credibility of actual hate-crime victims. “From top to bottom, this is not on the level.”
Superintendent Johnson — who at the time of Smollett’s arrest last month accused him of orchestrating the “stunt” because he was “dissatisfied” with his $65,000-per-episode salary — slammed the actor and his camp for not answering to charges he continues to deny.
“I’ve heard that they wanted their day in court with TV cameras so that America could know the truth,” said Johnson. “They chose to hide behind secrecy and broker a deal to circumvent the judicial system.”
Johnson also took a shot at prosecutors, claiming he was as blindsided as anybody by the decision to let Smollett down easy.
“We found out about it when you all did,” Johnson told a crush of media — with the Chicago Sun-Times citing sources as saying that the top cop was “furious” when he learned at a police-academy graduation ceremony. “Do I think justice was served?” Johnson mused aloud. “No.”
The prosecutor’s office that abandoned the case actually may agree with him. “We believe he did what he was charged with doing,” Joe Magats, Illinois’ first assistant state attorney, told ABC affiliate WLS-TV.
“This was not an exoneration,” said Magats, whose office offered no definitive explanation for their sudden decision to punt on and seal the 16-count felony indictment they felt confident enough to levy against Smollett less than a month ago.
“To say that he was exonerated by us or anyone is not true. Our goal and our No. 1 priority is combating violent crime and the drivers of violence, and we look to our resources to do that,” Magats told ABC. “I don’t think that Mr. Smollett is a driver of violence or a violent individual.”
Smollett claimed that on Jan. 29 he was jumped on a desolate Chicago street by two masked men yelling racist and homophobic slurs, as well as a reference to President Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan: “This is MAGA country!”
Smollett detailed — first to cops, then to the nation in an emotional appearance on “Good Morning America” — how the purported bigots beat him, doused him with bleach and looped a noose around his neck.
But as cops unraveled the threads of the alleged attack, they found that they circled right back to Smollett. A week before the incident ever occurred, Smollett told authorities that he received a letter with “You will die black f-g” spelled out in magazine clippings.
The envelope had “MAGA” written across it and contained a white powder later found to be crushed aspirin.
Smollett remains under investigation by the FBI and US Postal Inspection Service for allegedly sending the letter to himself, ABC reported Tuesday, citing sources.
And rather than the victim of a harrowing beatdown motivated by racial, anti-gay or political hatred, Smollett purportedly played the role of mastermind to an intricate, if flawed, plot to garner sympathy and fame, cops concluded.
He allegedly cut two African-American brothers, Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, a $3,500 check to help stage the attack, police said.
Neither brother has been criminally charged, and Smollett has maintained the payment was for their services as personal trainers.
Abimbola allegedly dealt drugs to Smollett, and both brothers had previously appeared in bit roles on “Empire.”
Smollett, who plays singer-songwriter Jamal Lyon on the hit Fox drama, had his scenes cut from the final episodes of the show’s latest season amid the controversy — but was not written out of the series entirely.
Smollett’s lawyers said Tuesday that he was eager to get away from news cameras and back in front of the TV camera — and he may be welcomed with open arms.
“Jussie Smollett has always maintained his innocence, and we are gratified that all charges against him have been dismissed,” said a spokesman for 20th Century Fox Television and Fox Entertainment.
As word of Smollett’s skating spread, the show’s writers’ room tweeted, “See y’all Wednesday,” along with a winking emoji and a screengrab of a news report on the bombshell turn.
Outside court in Chicago, loyal fans vied with dozens of journalists for Smollett’s attention — one of whom he stopped to take a selfie with.
“How you feel, Jussie? You feel good?” one woman could be heard calling. “You look good!”