Jury begins deliberations in trial of actor Jussie Smollett
By DON BABWIN and SARA BURNETT
Associated Press
CHICAGO (AP) — A jury has begun deliberations in the trial of actor Jussie Smollett on charges he staged a racist, anti-gay attack on himself and lied to Chicago police about it. The jury began deliberations Wednesday for the former “Empire” star after a roughly weeklong trial. Two brothers testified that Smollett orchestrated the hoax to get publicity. They say he paid them to fake the January 2019 attack in downtown Chicago. Smollett testified “there was no hoax” and says he was the victim of a hate crime. He says the brothers are “liars.” His attorneys say the brothers wanted $1 million not to testify against Smollett.
