{"id":1099612,"date":"2021-12-08T17:13:28","date_gmt":"2021-12-08T22:13:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1099612"},"modified":"2021-12-08T17:13:30","modified_gmt":"2021-12-08T22:13:30","slug":"jussie-smollett-trial-jury-has-begun-deliberations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jussie-smollett-trial-jury-has-begun-deliberations\/","title":{"rendered":"Jussie Smollett Trial: Jury Has Begun Deliberations"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjussie-smollett-trial-jury-has-begun-deliberations%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1099612&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Jmollettcould1.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"subheading\">The jury in Jussie Smollett\u2019s trial started deliberating Wednesday, after a prosecutor said there is \u201coverwhelming evidence\u201d that the former \u201cEmpire\u201d actor lied to police about being the victim of an anti-gay, racist attack and his defense attorney said the charges are based on lies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Component-root-0-2-187 Component-p-0-2-178\">The deliberations began after a roughly one-week trial in which two <a class href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/entertainment-arts-and-entertainment-crime-chicago-hate-crimes-6650652906e528cd4a8bf9032ea370e1\">brothers testified<\/a> that Smollett recruited them to fake the attack near his home in downtown Chicago in <a class href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/jussie-smollett-trial-key-moments-901588ec2b755a0b641924270f92421d\">January 2019<\/a>. They said Smollett, who is Black and gay, orchestrated the hoax, telling them to put a noose around his neck, yell racist and homophobic slurs 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.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p class=\"Component-root-0-2-187 Component-p-0-2-178\"><a class href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/jussie-smollett-entertainment-arts-and-entertainment-crime-chicago-eb787489c4e1fa17a12dff35eba13033\">Smollett testified <\/a>that he was the victim of a real hate crime, <a class href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/jussie-smollett-trial-resumes-chicago-3860a3e677b22f4da2233d333df7dabd\">telling jurors \u201cthere was no hoax.<\/a> \u201d He called the brothers \u201cliars\u201d and said the $3,500 check he wrote them was for meal and workout plans. His <a class href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/jussie-smollett-entertainment-arts-and-entertainment-crime-chicago-4d72871f9ec25022c5a681ffef677333\">attorneys argued<\/a> that the brothers attacked the actor because they are homophobic and that they made up the story about the attack being staged but said they wouldn\u2019t testify against Smollett if he paid them each $1 million.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Component-root-0-2-187 Component-p-0-2-178\">In his closing argument Wednesday, special prosecutor Dan Webb told the jury that what Smollett did <a class href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/smollett-trial-11-30-live-updates-e0fa5da624c4d3ef00c68a893b024bb4\">caused Chicago police to spend enormous resources <\/a>investigating an alleged crime that turned out to be fake. Smollett, who is Black and gay, told police someone put a noose around his neck and yelled racist and homophobic slurs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Component-root-0-2-187 Component-p-0-2-178\">Webb said Smollett lied when he testified that he picked up the Osundairo brothers a few days before the alleged attack so they could work out, rather than to do a \u201cdry run\u201d of the fake attack, as the brothers told jurors last week. In surveillance video, the men are seen driving around Smollett\u2019s apartment building three times, but Smollett never parked his car to go workout.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p class=\"Component-root-0-2-187 Component-p-0-2-178\">The brothers testified that Smollett pointed out a surveillance camera near the intersection that would record the fake attack, so it could be publicized on social media. But Smollett testified Tuesday that it wasn\u2019t unusual for him to drive around in circles, and that he canceled the plan to work out because he didn\u2019t want to work out with Olabingo Osundairo, whom he hadn\u2019t invited along.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Component-root-0-2-187 Component-p-0-2-178\">Uche told jurors that Smollett often drove around smoking marijuana and making music, and he questioned why prosecutors didn\u2019t obtain surveillance video of him doing so.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Component-root-0-2-187 Component-p-0-2-178\">\u201cThey don\u2019t want to do it because it would show you it wasn\u2019t a dry run,\u201d Uche said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Component-root-0-2-187 Component-p-0-2-178\">Webb also referenced surveillance video that shows the Osundairo brothers walking around the area the night of the alleged attack. Webb questioned how the brothers \u2014 who didn\u2019t live nearby \u2014 would know to be in the area around 2 a.m. during freezing cold weather for the fake attack.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Component-root-0-2-187 Component-p-0-2-178\">\u201cThey knew where he was going to be because Smollett told them where he was going to be,\u201d Webb said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p class=\"Component-root-0-2-187 Component-p-0-2-178\">But Uche said the brothers testified they arrived 40 minutes early, adding \u201cthey were casing him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Component-root-0-2-187 Component-p-0-2-178\">Webb also questioned why Smollett didn\u2019t turn over his cellphone to police or give them a DNA sample or access to his medical records to help with the investigation. Smollett testified he doesn\u2019t trust Chicago police, and that he was concerned about his privacy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Component-root-0-2-187 Component-p-0-2-178\">\u201cIf he was a true victim of a crime he would not be withholding evidence,\u201d Webb said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Component-root-0-2-187 Component-p-0-2-178\">Uche called it \u201cnonsense\u201d for Chicago police to ask Smollett for his DNA when he was still considered a victim of a crime. He noted Smollett later provided DNA to the FBI for a separate investigation into hate mail he had received at the \u201cEmpire\u201d studio shortly before the alleged attack.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Component-root-0-2-187 Component-p-0-2-178\">\u201cHe wasn\u2019t hiding anything,\u201d Uche said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Component-root-0-2-187 Component-p-0-2-178\">The <a class href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/jussie-smollett-trial-chicago-charges-d5f6081f7755b841a878952889d29feb\">disorderly conduct charge<\/a> is a class 4 felony that carries a prison sentence of up to three years, but experts have said if Smollett is convicted, he would likely be placed on probation and ordered to perform community service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The jury in Jussie Smollett\u2019s trial started deliberating Wednesday, after a prosecutor said there is \u201coverwhelming evidence\u201d that the former \u201cEmpire\u201d actor lied to police about being the victim of &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1099612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1099612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1099612"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1099612\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1099612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1099612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1099612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}