Jussie Smollett Found Guilty On Five Charges

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1) Jussie Smollett Found Guilty On Five Charges

The Topline: After six days of testimony and another day of closing arguments, the jury determined that actor Jussie Smollett was guilty on five of six charges — that he planned and carried out a fake attack on himself and then lied to police about it.

Quote Of The Day: “There was no hoax.” 

– Jussie Smollett to the jury

Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images

The Trial

Smollett was charged with six class 4 felony counts of disorderly conduct on suspicion of making false reports to police. The counts are some of Illinois’ least serious felonies, but they still carry up to three years in prison. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. The jury, which consisted of five white men, five white women, one black man, and one Hispanic woman, left the courtroom at about 2:40p.m. on Wednesday to begin what became over 9 hours of deliberation before reaching the guilty verdict. 

Remember: Smollett claimed two men attacked him late at night in January of 2019 near his Chicago apartment. He claimed the men shouted, “This is MAGA country,” along with anti-gay and racist slurs, before putting a noose around his neck, and pouring chemicals on him. 

In 2019, the state’s attorney for Cook County, Kim Foxx, abruptly dropped the charges against Smollett. A special prosecutor was then assigned to the case and those charges were restored.

Arguments

The defense attorney tried to convince the jury that Smollett wouldn’t have arranged the crime in Chicago, saying, “He’s dumb enough to go into Obama’s city and pretend there’s Trump supporters running around with Maga hats? Give me a break.” 

Special prosecutor David Webb said Smollett is a “serial liar who without question orchestrated a hoax race attack.” The prosecutor said Smollett caused Chicago police to spend a huge amount of resources investigating a crime which ended up being fake. He also said surveillance video contradicts Smollett’s testimony. 

The brothers who helped in the hoax testified that Smollett paid them to stage the attack on him in order to get media attention for himself. Smollett’s defense attorney called the brothers “sophisticated liars” and said they are motivated by fame and money. 

Smollett took the stand on Monday and Tuesday, and continued to insist he’s innocent and is the victim of a crime. 

Big Picture

Celebrities and politicians flocked to support Smollett when he first made the claim he was attacked, including CNN’s Don Lemon. 

Black Lives Matter put out a statement Tuesday saying they still support him. The co-founder of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles said, “we can never believe police,” over Smollett, calling him a “black man who’s been courageously present, visible, and vocal in the struggle for Black freedom.”

Charli Bandit via Getty Images

2) School Closures Continue To Impact Students And Parents 

The Topline: Schools are starting to close down again in some areas of the country, but parents are speaking out against the negative impacts of school interruptions. 

Quote Of The Day: “This is only possible because mother nature spared us this hurricane season. We understand that this change impacts families and childcare and that’s why we are working on multiple options that’ll help families that may need it.”

– Dr. Mark Mullins, Superintendent for Brevard Public Schools 

School Closures

Once again, some schools are shutting down, although this round of closures is the result of negotiations with teachers, who say they are burnt out following COVID protocols. 

According to The New York Times, at least six Michigan school districts prolonged Thanksgiving break, and three districts in Washington randomly closed on the day after Veterans Day. A district near Detroit told parents on a Sunday in October it would be remote on Friday, and then continue remote learning every Friday until February. One school in Florida shut down schools for the whole week of Thanksgiving, pointing to the fact that they hadn’t used any “hurricane days.” A Utah school district said all of its schools will do remote learning one Friday each month from November until March.

Reasons

The closures appear to be a response to teacher morale and employee shortages rather than the safety of in-person learning. Since the remote learning style wasn’t available before COVID, it now seems as if schools are offering this to teachers to prevent them from leaving. 

The teachers’ union in Portland, Oregon, is suggesting early-release days for some of its schools after they come back from winter recess. The president of the Portland Association of Teachers, said they’re getting an “alarming” amount of teachers asking for assistance in quitting. 

Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, told The Times that teachers

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