Prosecutors: Jussie Smollett Ordered Brothers to Yell, ‘This is MAGA Country’
Smollett maintained his innocence at a meeting with Empire cast and crew.
The prosecutors in the case against Empire actor Jussie Smollett released their bond proffer, which provides evidence that he filed a false police report.
The prosecutors wrote that Smollett instructed brothers Abimbola “Abel” and Olabinjo “Ola” Osundairo to attack him, place a noose around his head, pour bleach on him, and also yell, “This is MAGA country!”
Smollett appeared in court in Chicago at 1:30PM on Thursday where the prosecutors read from the bond proffer.
Smollett received a racist letter on January 22, which contained a powdery white substance. It went to law enforcement and currently in an FBI lab for analysis.
When the racist letters to Smollett did not generate the attention he craved, he decided to take the next step. On January 25, Smollett texted Abel that he “[M]ight need your help on the low. You around to meet up and talk face to face?” When they met, Smollett told Abel how he was unhappy with the way the way the studios handled the racist letter and so he wanted the brothers to help him stage an attack.
Smollett showed the brothers where he wanted them to attack them, provided them money for the materials, and even rehearsed the attack with them. He also told them not to bring their cell phones.
The attack occurred on January 29:
The judge ordered $100,000 bail and Smollett had to surrender his passport. The judge reminded everyone that “Smollett is presumed innocent, but if true, the charges are ‘outrageous.'” The judge expressed disgust over the fact that a noose was used.
Smollett paid $10,000 bond and will have to remain under supervision until his next court date on March 14.
During a press conference early Thursday morning, Chicago Police Department Supt. Eddie Johnson stated that Smollett performed the attack due to dissatisfaction with his salary on Empire. He also said that Smollett wounded himself.
Smollett’s attorneys released this statement:
“Today we witnessed an organized law enforcement spectacle that has no place in the American legal system. The presumption of innocence, a bedrock in the search for justice, was trampled upon at the expense of Mr. Smollett and notably, on the eve of a Mayoral election. Mr. Smollett is a young man of impeccable character and integrity who fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence and feels betrayed by a system that apparently wants to skip due process and proceed directly to sentencing.”
Smollett apologized to those on Empire, but insisted that he is innocent. From CNN:
The person at the meeting said they were shocked and dismayed that Smollett stuck to his story of innocence. For the most part, the source said, Smollett paraphrased what was in the statement that his attorney put out that afternoon, blaming the legal system and the media for his woes.
20th Century Fox Television executive VP of corporate communications and publicity, Chris Alexander, confirmed that Smollett was on set filming on Thursday.
The Daily Mail received a statement from Empire’s creator that the show has cut Smollett from the last two episodes:
The creators of Empire have cut Jussie Smollett’s character from the final two episodes of its fifth season which are being currently filmed, meaning he will not return to set.
In a statement to DailyMail.com on Friday morning, the show’s creator Lee Daniels and executive producers Danny Strong, Brett Mahoney, Brian Grazer, Sanaa Hamri, Francie Calfo and Dennis Hammer said the case had taken a toll on the entire cast and crew.
They did not reveal whether or not they believe Smollett’s innocence, but said the allegations against him are ‘disturbing’.
‘The events of the past few weeks have been incredibly emotional for all of us.
‘Jussie has been an important member of our EMPIRE family for the past five years and we care about him deeply.
‘While these allegations are very disturbing, we are placing our trust in the legal system as the process plays out.
‘We are also aware of the effects of this process on the cast and crew members who work on our show and to avoid further disruption on set, we have decided to remove the role of ‘Jamal’ from the final two episodes of the season,’ the statement said.
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Comments
He is one dumb self-righteous douchebag. This is MAGA country, among other stupid mistakes, was a big side eye for the whole veracity of his story.
He’s an actor. And he presented exactly what his audience wanted to believe and so they believed it. To those who can’t stand middle America, the idea of traditions in the U.S., the principles of freedom and individuality, and lots of other things his one act play seemed entirely realistic and plausible. Only because that’s how they view 50%+ of the citizens of the country.
Saying this is MAGA Country was the one thing that was not a mistake. He was right. As the song goes, “This land is your land, this land is MAGA Land, From California to the New York island… This land was made for you and me – and President Trump.” I think that’s the way the song goes.
Yes, exactly, but to people like him that was a realistic detail that gave the story veracity. That’s essentially what this idiot argues.
Why? Was an audio recording intended? I really don’t know Nigerian politics. Would an exclamation of “This is MAGA counry” with a Nigerian accent actually have played well? Maybe this was all just a cleverly staged joke gone wrong?
I know, you know, and the entire TrumpHating community knows, that Jussie will play this attack for all its worth. I saw a few interviews Variety did at the Black Women in Hollywood event yesterday – to a one, they support Jussie because ya know, Trump is racist.
Jussie and his lawyers will take this to media to play out because there they WILL win. And that’s really all the victory Jussie and his pals want – a moral victory – that people do believe him. Sick.
Completely disagree. This guy has suddenly turned toxic. The case against him is so overwhelming that even his best friends have deleted their supportive tweets and are now sprinting away from him. Were they aware of his long history of lying to the police? He is a certifiably proven pathological liar whose narcissism knows no bounds. Who would be so stupid to defend him now?
Jussie will achieve eternal fame as a perjorative verb for the crime of racist hoaxing for personal gain. The only friends he will have are the same kinds of people who admire notorious losers like Charles Manson. Well done Jussie!
Mad Maxine just came out to defend Jussie. Case closed. Only stupid people would now step up to support him. Unbelievable. That is one dumb woman.
Phil, I see it this way. The black community has decided to band together to show support of Jussie out of fear that if they turn their back on him, they would be showing disrespect to fellow blacks. I would venture to guess in their hearts and minds, at home and away from the cameras, they despise what Jussie did – but will they admit that publicly? Unlikely.
Well I don’t know where you are getting that but I am not seeing it. His own cast is demanding he be fired. Prominent blacks across the board (except for Mad Maxine… so far) are excoriating him. No equivocation. He has lost his war right out of the gate.
No, they haven’t. NAACP presidents in different places are already denouncing him. That’s just one example. As this gets worse, expect to see even more people calling him out.
Of course, they will all probably jump to his defense once some rehab or mental counseling is announced.
1)A rather large percentage of blacks do not view criminal behavior as bad.
2)Regardless, they will support him because he is black.
Phil: I concede. This breaking news:
Breaking News: The “Empire” producers cut Jussie Smollett from this season after initially standing by him. The police say he staged his own attack.
The celebrity defense attorney Mark Geragos officially, who joined the “Empire” actor’s legal team, was floating the idea of systemic racism in CPD
Dumb? maybe. I think she is playing to her constituency.
Also, something is very telling in all of this.
The Left is breeding these committed little soldiers that will still deny and maintain pleas of innocence in the face of overwhelming evidence to their narrative. In Jussie’s mind, he still thinks he’s in the right and the ends justify the means, both for his own gain and for society.
The scariest thing is we aren’t even sitting here able to unravel his stupidity if he does a few common sense moves like hiring white guys that he doesn’t know through a proxy and being more clever and clandestine with the accounting of his crusade.
This clearly would have happen if their had been any white Trump supporters in Chicago at all at 2am on a night when the temperatures were below zero. The fact that it was all staged play acting is immaterial. The press will keep their false narrative going. OrangeManBad, OrangeManSupportersBad. Everyone else is a victim.
There is always room for more codswallop
Missing line after “Everyone else is a victim.”
“How come we lose election again?”
“Today we witnessed an organized law enforcement spectacle that has no place in the American legal system. The presumption of innocence, a bedrock in the search for justice, was trampled upon at the expense of Mr. Smollett and notably, on the eve of a Mayoral election. Mr. Smollett is a young man of impeccable character and integrity who fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence and feels betrayed by a system that apparently wants to skip due process and proceed directly to sentencing.”
-George Zimmerman
-Brett Kavanaugh
-Darren Wilson
-Nick Sandmann
-Clarence Thomas
Shall i go on?
Liberal tears… Gotta love it
LOL…desperation.
Being charged and held for trial with bail and representation is the epitome of due process.
He’ll enjoy the presumption of innocence in the courtroom. But he torched all such presumption by the public when he went on national TV and repeated the provably false statements he’s charged with making to police.
On the plus side, the police representative who was involved with this investigation is Black, and he had made some very strong statements against the actions this racist bigot Smollett took to push his own fantasy. He is being charged for the crime of false reporting to the police of an attack that he orchestrated. He is also supposed to be fined for the costs of this investigation.
With this having been pushed by the national propaganda media and several celebrity personalities, I don’t see this being buried or brushed aside.
The police chief (I believe he was the representative who spoke on this affair) expressed his larger concern over hate crimes (a totally bogus and unnecessary addition to any charges being brought up, as it is simply meant to lengthen the punishment of a crime due to racial or orientation reasons against whites only) being ignored or viewed negatively by the population. He sounded disgusted at Smollett using a hangman’s noose in this despicable manner.
I see a big backlash coming from Smollett from the left, as this hurts their narrative to the fence sitters. Remember it is always about creating spin to get the ill-informed and squishy voters to vote for the lying leftists.
I personally think that, given this stupidity of “hate crimes”, that Smollett be charged with a hate crime label. He put together this play in order to push his politics of hate against Trump and Trump supporters, this was for racial and sexual orientation reasons. The right leaning people need to have this idea pushed so it blunts the left’s bogus tool again the white race.
Smollett wasted the time of the police in this matter, smeared Chicago, all so he could push his drama for political purposes, and create more division and racial tensions.
What? That is exactly the kind of idea that fuels the idiots like Smollett and the victimhood crowd to keep the shrieking about racism at full volume.
What about religion or sexual orientation is related to race? Those are categorically within the FBI’s definition of “hate crime”.
That is simply not true, and it’s impossible that you don’t know it. Only a minority of people prosecuted for hate crimes are white.
He can’t be.
That is not the definition of a hate crime. A hate crime is one of a list of specific crimes, which target a victim for his real or perceived traits. Not only is Smollet’s crime not listed, it had no victim; therefore the victim could not have been chosen for any of the listed reasons.
“Only a minority of people prosecuted for hate crimes are white.”
Where do you find your numbers?
From the 2015 FBI statistics, almost 60% of hate crimes are charged for race/ethnicity, and 48% of the offenders charged are white, 24% were black, and the remainder unknown/other.
https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2015-hate-crime-statistics-released
48% is a minority. But note that that stat is not 48% of those charged under hate crime laws; it’s 48% of the offenders reported to the FBI (which doesn’t itself enforce such laws because they only exist on the state level).
Sorry, but for the math challenged , when 48% is the largest slice of the pie, it’s not only not a minority, it is the majority group.
Never the less, please defend your statement with numbers from a source. I’m unable to find what you report.
OK, you are officially insane. Everybody in the world knows that 48% is by definition a minority.
The more I hear the more they need to add domestic terrorism to the charges. He clearly set this up intending to have video and audio or at least witnesses to hear the slurs. If successful this would have quickly caught fire and a lot of people would have been hurt.
I recall open speculation if failure to solve the case through insufficient devotion of resources, apathy, etc., would spark pro-Jussie race riots, given how deeply it had shaken the African-American political, media and celebrity community.
…And here we are.
That’s not the definition of terrorism.
Just now, I heard that Advocate Magazine has come out and said, the Chicago PD’s jumping all over this hoax and publicly calling it such a terrible and racist and homophobic crime was their first step in a racist campaign of leaks and bias to support Donald Trump by beating on poor Jussie. Essentially, how dare you devote genuine resources to solving the crime, the hoax was fine as it was. Or, if you prefer…
He’d have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn’t for you meddling cops.
Not to mention everyone could blame systematic racism for the CPD not thoroughly investigating, so why, oh why, did you have to actually investigate for real and solve the case as a hoax? (Never mind the CPD superintendent Eddie Johnson is an African-American himself, of course.) Lovely world we live in. Really.
Saw that. That claim is just as unbelievable as the storyline that Smollett created for his performance.
This isn’t going to end well for him. The time for him to give up the game has passed. People who WANT to support him b/c of all the identity claims can’t because they want to go back to the “everybody is racist” norm and this prevents that. It has to get out of the mainstream. If he confesses, asks for some “remedy” like rehab or psychiatric help, etc., it will come off the front pages, so to speak. Then the victimhood crowd can forgive him and return to the way things were.
Smollett has just proved that blacks can be and are racist. They are also tribal, willing to back false narratives to protect a fellow black regardless of what they have done.
How do you draw that conclusion in full? Of course anyone can be racist, although the injustice crowd debates it. But what about his actions and what is unfolding about the reactions and especially changes in reactions “proves” to be racist? I mean, for starters I guess to assume his initial act proves racism you have to accept that ONLY white people are affected by the anti-Trump and anti-MAGA fabrications. Hardly true. And the fact that black leaders are now on the record in condemning his actions doesn’t prove it much further.
I do know blacks who do not have anything to do with this mindset, but they are a small minority of the group. They are top flight professionals, and do not like the grievance crap any more than the majority of Americans.
“…blacks are racist.”
The allegation of a true bigot. People CAN be racists, regardless of their skin color. Like you.
“They are also tribal…”
“They” is a racist identifier used by a racist bigot. People are tribal. People with principles resist it. Such people form their own affiliations. I’m with THOSE people; people like Justice Thomas and Dr. Sowell, and millions of Americans.
You wouldn’t understand.
Man, that horse is high…don’t fall.
No worries. You might like to join me. Or would you prefer the mud where JustAssDelivered wallows?
Everyone is “tribal”. During the filming of Planet of the Apes, it was said the costumed extras tended to eat together as groups of chimps, gorillas and orangs.. even in costume there was “tribal” … comfort level stuff.
Confirming what I said.
OK, Rags-Rump, do you ever hear other people of races calin that no one in their races can be racist, that it is only some other race which has that trait? I have seen or heard this claim from blacks for years.
Were you paying any attention to how blacks have repeatedly conducted very high profile campaigns against people of other races such as George Zimmerman. Did you notice how in case after case that they misrepresented facts of cases. have you noticed all the ghetto lottery scams?
For decades society has poured lots of money into trying to change the black condition. In spite of this, a very large percentage of blacks have not greatly improved their position, but they are certain that they deserve the good life, just because of ancestors far back in the days of slavery.
My belief is that society has done all it should for blacks, they do have equal, perhaps more than equal opportunity, that we should do the same we do with out young adult children, insist that they study hard, work hard, and earn their own way. We need to come down very hard on those who scam us.
I don’t believe in holding anyone back, it is best for all of us that they achieve their full potential. I also do not think society should accommodate slackers, regardless of race. I believe that it is time to demand accountability, starting with ending affirmative action and judging people, regardless of race, on individual merit.
He said “can be and are”. That’s very different. It doesn’t imply that all blacks are racist, it only implies that there are racist blacks, just as there are racist everyone else.
Bullshit, Milhouse. He said what he said, and that is not an “implication”. PLUS, it’s consistent with his other racist, bigoted crap.
Ok, I’ll try. Hopefully, this doesn’t end in name calling.
For starters, you misquoted him.
He actually said “…blacks can be and are racist”
It’s not a racist statement. It’s a direct counter-argument to the delusional academic grievance mongers that suggest blacks actually can’t be racist no matter what they say or do. Is that statement generalizing blacks also racist? No, it’s just laughably stupid. In fact, it is so glaringly stupid that these statements would draw widespread disdain and open mockery in a public forum like this. Instead, they only linger in an insulated echo chamber of gullible pupils and grievance cheerleaders.
I think you are pushing too hard for the comment block hanging here when the point that was made was not of the awful nature you describe. At worst, it’s a generalization.
To your other arguments, tribalism is a real aspect of human social evolution that remains today. Many Asian American ethnicities prefer to associate with one another because of their shared languages, cultural values, etc. Many black Americans have the same tendencies. The only difference is that Asian minorities gather this way gladly and don’t use their own social choices as a club to scream exclusion, privilege, and institutional racism. Several factions of the grievance mongers on the other hand…
“…blacks are racist.”
Quote the whole sentence with out Ragspierre edits –
“Smollett has just proved that blacks can be and are racist.”
My italics. Notice the change, removing “can be and are”.
This is an example of a lie.
Yours is the lie.
“Blacks can be racist” would be true and unobjectionable.
“Blacks are racist” is a racist, bigoted remark. It is a lie, fundamentally, and it is based on race.
It goes with “They are also tribal…”.
JustAssDelivered has many times made remarks here of the same kind.
Conservatives don’t see people as groups. That is a Prog thing. Conservatives see…and appreciate…people as individuals.
“JustAssDelivered has many times…”
Yea, then point us to those instead of lying about what he said above.
Flat.Out.Lie That’s what you did by doctoring what he said. You’re as honest as the devil.
I’m not gonna completely let him off as easy on that “conservatives don’t see people as groups” diatribe.
First off, it is true that conservatives are more likely to care about individualism over group-think and group identity.
However, EVERYONE generalizes at times. You do it every time you comment on this message board when you make assumptions about how your next opponent thinks.
Now I expect you will start driving yourself more mad by actively fighting a central tendency of human cognition. Generalization (a tenet of making associations) is part of how humans think to make sense and simplify our information from the environment.
We walk on eggshells all day every day trying not to make the “wrong” generalizations voiced aloud, but we all do it, daily, whether we want to admit it or not. Some generalizations are positive and some are negative…what we do with them shapes our character, but we ALL do it.
The last thing I’ll say, which I find hilarious is this:
“Conservatives don’t see people as groups. That is a Prog thing. Conservatives see…and appreciate…people as individuals.” -Ragspierre
That’s a generalization lumping all conservatives together into a group think philosophy. It’s not entirely untrue, but it’s dripping with irony.
And you’re a liar, proven once again for everyone to see.
It’s a classic commie/prog move, misquote someone then call them a racist based on the complete misquote.
We’re actually not defending someone who you have labeled racist. We’re tearing down your bad argument.
Citing his past history is irrelevant to this discussion because, frankly, as the ‘individual free-thinking conservatives’ that we are, we really don’t care.
Rags, small minded Rags. Trumps still trumps you in every way.
“Mr. Smollett is a young man of impeccable character and integrity who fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence”
_________________
LOL, yeah this same young man of “impeccable character and integrity” got pulled over for a DUI in 2007 and told cops he was his brother Jake.
https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/ny-ent-jussie-smollett-2007-false-information-20190220-story.html
Jussie Smollett later pleaded “no contest” to a charge of providing authorities with false information in a DUI case, and was sentenced to probation and an alcohol education class.
A crack-house whore has more integrity than this guy.
Not to mention the odd, slightly oxymoronic choice of “fiercely” and “solemnly.”
Rush is giving us the low-down on Smollet’s background today. His mother is a radical black activist going way back. Her best friend is Angela Davis. Jussie’s affiliations include Black Lives Matters and others. Lots of info, all of it angry and radical.
[Charles] Barkley couldn’t get enough of Smollett’s alleged inability to pull off a good hoax.
“America, let me just tell you something: Do not commit crimes with checks. If you’re going to break the law, do not write a check .. get cash man,” Barkley told his TNT audience Thursday night as he tried his hardest to fight back laughs.
It keeps getting better. Smollett is Kamala Harris’ nephew.
https://www.brainstain.us/2019/02/22/kamala-harris-releases-statement-after-jussie-smollett-arrest-amidst-exposed-family-ties/
Oh, that’s just delicious.
Fake Indians on one coast and fake racist victims on the other.
I think we are at the point where a “Carrie Matheson level” wall needs to be created just to document all of these connections.
In times past, this would have been perfect material for either weekend update, or heck, a skit or a series of skits. But sdly no more now that the “humor spirit” has permanently vacated studio 6.
He is also now claiming an “unrelated” drug problem. Unrelated? His two accomplices, you know, the guys he paid with a check, were his suppliers of Molly.
BTW, Smullett’s relationship to Harris is what Rush was referring too. A caller had suggested that Harris was involved with staging this hoax as a way to create a national outrage for her to champion in her presidential campaign. It may by pure speculation but the timing, poor execution and possible motives line up well. And Harris is just as dumb as Smollett so genes may be a factor as well.
Rush just announced that he will be revealing a direct relationship between Smollett and Jussie and that this incident may have been orchestrated to boost her proposed “anti-lynching” legislation as a major issue for her POTUS campaign. Can’t wait.
Correction:
“Rush just announced that he will be revealing a direct relationship between Kamala Harris and Jussie…” I could have sworn I got it right the first time.
Too bad all those reporters are still back at the thrift store.
Pro-Choice, selective, opportunistic, and politically congruent. The response was rabid diversity or [unprincipled] color judgment.
Hardly surprising that America’s anchor Man has to find and release info about just being red diaper baby .
I just read the biggest load of bullsh*t I’ve seen all month, about this. Money quote: “Per Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, false reports of hate crimes account for only 0.2–0.3 percent of all hate crimes reported in the last three years.” I guess someone with such a title would say that, but it has as much credibility as those claims we used to hear that false reports of rape or sexual molestation are vanishingly rare.
What’s endlessly amusing is yes, this IS MAGA country, and in MAGA country, we MAGA hat-wearing fly-overs don’t engage in racial attacks. We leave those to our elitist betters on the Left.
Still an all-time favorite of mine, if only for sentiment.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/open-letter-to-the-naacp/