Jussie Smollett Reaches Settlement With The City Of Chicago In Hate Crime Hoax Lawsuit

Jussie Smollett has come to terms on an agreement with the city of Chicago, settling the $130,000 lawsuit tied to his notorious hate crime hoax from 2019. After a highly publicized trial, Smollett was eventually found guilty of filing a false police report claiming that he was attacked by two Trump supporters.

According to NBC, the settlement details have not been disclosed as each party needs “additional time is needed” to finalize the documentation.

Filed in January 2019, the city’s suit accused him of planning the attack, and “it sought $130,000 in expenses spent on the police investigation.”

In response, Smollett had filed a countersuit denying that he conceived the plot of the attack, and also denied making a false police report.

Both the city and Smollett told the court on Monday that they have settled “but need more time to finalize documentation.”

After Smollett testified to police that he was the victim of a hate crime for being Black and gay, he claimed that two men, brothers Ola and Abimbola Osundairo, attacked him, and they were arrested. Police later said Smollett paid the brothers to help him stage the attack.

In February 2019, Smollett was arrested and indicted by a grand jury in March on “suspicion of filing a false police report.” Eventually,  Cook County State Attorney Kimberly Foxx dropped the charges. 

When a special prosecutor took up the case in February 2020, Smollett was charged with six disorderly conduct counts and went to trial.

In December 2021,  Smollett was found guilty on five counts of felony disorderly conduct for making false reports about a fake anti-gay/Black crime.

In March 2022, he was sentenced to 150 days in jail, 30 months of probation, and ordered to pay restitution of more than $120,000 and a $25,000 fine.