If you’ve been paying attention to Jussie Smollett’s newfound criminal charges, then you already know it’s only a matter of time before he gets his comeuppance.
The “Empire” actor rocketed to infamy when he accused two MAGA-hat wearers of beating him while throwing around homophobic slurs on the streets of downtown Chicago. Smollett escaped justice once already, but it’s coming back to haunt him right now.
And Jussie Smollett might finally land in jail after this huge upcoming court proceeding.
Remember when Hollywood flocked to Jussie Smollett’s side after he claimed he was “beaten up” by two of President Trump’s supporters, which is ridiculous to think that two men would hate-watch “Empire” so much that they decided to beat up a random actor. It’s absurd.
It doesn’t take a genius to see the forest through the trees here.
But while the Cook County State Attorney’s Office ended up dropping all 16 of his felony charges, escaping with a slap on the wrist, Smollett finds himself in hot water again after federal judges and special prosecutors overseeing his case decidedly brought new charges against him.
Hopefully, these will stick.
And they might because the two Nigerian brothers who admitted helping Smollett with this alleged elaborate crime announced they will testify against him.
In a strange twist Smollett didn’t see coming, attorney Gloria Schmidt Rodriguez said in a statement that her clients, Abimbola (Abel) and Olabinjo (Ola) Osundairo, changed their minds on testifying against the “Empire” actor after a 9mm handgun that was seized during a search of their home last year was located after it had been presumed missing.
Although, it’s not clear what the bearing of a 9mm handgun being found has anything to do with the case. But it clearly does.
Schmidt Rodriquez wrote in a letter to Special Prosecutor Dan Webb, “Abel and Ola will recommence their cooperation in the Smollett case now that the handgun has been produced by the Special Prosecutor’s Office.”
Through speculation, what this appears to be is that this 9mm handgun was illegally obtained and they are using their testimony against Smollett to strike a deal on the gun charge.
That is of course is bad news for Smollett.
If you remember, the Nigerian brothers claimed Smollett paid them $3,500 to stage the alleged incident and they were also caught on camera at a hardware store on the outskirts of Chicago purchasing miscellaneous items like a rope. Smollett was wearing a noose around his neck an hour after the alleged incident took place and Chicago police showed up at his apartment.
But the Nigerian brothers’ testimony against Smollett is moot because they have already spoken about the alleged attack before a grand jury—making what they said, “already under oath on paper,” according to David Erickson, a former appellate judge who teaches at Chicago Kent College of Law.
Erickson said if the brothers went into court and refused to testify during trial, there was nothing stopping the judge from holding them in contempt and nothing stopping prosecutors for charging them for their admitted role in what authorities say was a staged attack.
However, this 9mm handgun might literally be the smoking gun that finally puts Smollett behind bars. The damage this story has done cannot be undone. Smollett has caused irreparable harm to race relations in this country if his story does turns out to be fabricated. That should be enough to make an example out of Smollett and put him behind bars.
