The former President Donald Trump spoke out over the weekend to slam the ex-“Empire” actor Jussie Smollett days after he was found guilty for allegedly staging a hate crime against himself.
“This is really a hate crime. Sort of a hate crime in reverse. And he’s not going to get away with it,” Trump told Fox News host Laura Ingraham, according to The New York Post [1].
“If he were a Republican, if he were on the other side, he’d be in jail for 25 years for hate crimes for what he did and for what he said,” he added.
Smollett claimed in January of 2019 that he was attacked by two men who hurled racist and homophobic slurs at him while also shouting “this is MAGA country.” He also allegedly that they tied a noose around his neck and poured bleach on him.
After police investigated, however, they concluded that Smollett had paid two brothers to attack him in the hopes of garnering himself publicity that would land him a higher salary on “Empire.” Last Thursday, a Chicago jury found Smollett guilty of five of six counts of felony disorderly conduct for filing a false police report after testimony from 13 witnesses.
“This was an absolute con job and he was the con man and he wanted to try and get sympathy so he could get his contract renewed for his ridiculous television series and that didn’t work out too well,” Trump stated.
Smollett has already announced plans to appeal his conviction.
We feel 100 percent confident that this case will be won on appeal,” defense attorney Nenye Uche told The Post. [2] “Unfortunately, that’s not the route we wanted but sometimes that’s the route you have to take to win, especially a case where we remain 100 percent confident in our client’s innocence.”
“He’s a human being, he’s disappointed — but I will tell you this: I am very proud of him, I’m very, very proud of him,” Uche continued. “He’s holding up very strong, he’s committed to clearing his name and he’s 100 percent confident that he’s going to get cleared by the appellate court.”
Uche went on to whine about the scrutiny on the case from its start, how it may have affected the outcome.
“From the first day of this case, his case has been prejudged, his case has been tried in the media, and it’s unfortunate, this is the United States of America,” Uche said. “We live in a constitutional democracy where everyone is presumed innocent but obviously, if we’re being honest, that hasn’t been the case.”
“But we are confident in our appellate system, we’re confident in our Illinois Supreme Court and we’re confident that at the end of the day, what’s out there in the news media, and in the gossip forums are not going to stand a chance in court,” he concluded.
Many Americans feel that Smollett tried to play off the racial and political divides that are currently plaguing America for his own personal gain. He will be sentenced at a later time, and he is facing up to three years in prison.