Jussie Smollett Found Guilty in Alleged Hate Crime Trial

A verdict has been reached in Jussie Smollett‘s trial.

After the 39-year-old Empire star took to the stand in his defense on Monday (December 6) during his trial over accusations that he staged the 2019 hate attack against him, the jury delivered their verdict on Thursday (December 9).

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In the end, the jury delivered a guilty verdict, via Page Six.

He was found guilty on five felony charges, including lying to the police about the alleged hate crime attack. He was found innocent of making a false police report in the days after the so-called assault that he was the victim of an aggravated battery, via Deadline.

He faces a sentence of up to three years behind bars and a $25,000 fine.

Jurors deliberated for over nine hours before reaching the verdict, after six days of testimony from 13 witnesses. The six men and six woman revealed their decision in Cook County Judge James Linn’s courtroom.

Abimbola ‘Abel’ and Olabinjo ‘Ola’ Osundairo testified that the attack was Jussie’s idea.

Jussie was arrested and charged by the city of Chicago and was accused of lying to police when he reported that two masked men physically and verbally attacked him, yelling racist and anti-gay remarks near his Chicago home in 2019.

While his legal team has tried to dismiss the case against Jussie, a judge denied the motion, and Jussie pled not guilty to the charges.

He faced six counts of felony disorderly conduct for making what prosecutors say was a false police report about the alleged attack. The felony, a class 4, carries a prison sentence of up to three years.