Jussie Smollett feels 'betrayed' over arrest after being released on $100,000 bail
Jussie Smollett has said he feels ‘betrayed’ by the justice system after being released on $100,000 bail and having to surrender his passport following his arrest yesterday.
The Empire actor was arrested and charged with filing a false police statement in Chicago, relating to an alleged assault at the end of January.
Smollett had claimed that he had been set upon in a homophobic, racially-motivated attack near his apartment in the early hours of January 29.
But evidence has since emerged suggesting that he knew his assailants, and had set up the attack, during which he was beaten, had bleach poured over him and left with a noose tied around his neck.
The attackers were also wearing Make America Great Again hats.
At a hearing yesterday, texts between the actor and brothers Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo were reportedly read out in court which alluded to various details of how the assault would take place.
Details of a $3,500 cheque written to the brothers by Smollett were also revealed.
If found guilty, the actor could face three years in jail for the felony.
The judge presiding over the hearing called the incident ‘utterly outrageous’ and ‘despicable’, should he be found guilty.
A statement from Smolletts defence reads: “Today we witnessed an organized law enforcement spectacle that has no place in the American legal system.
“The presumption of innocence, a bedrock in the search for justice, was trampled upon at the expense of Mr. Smollett and notably, on the eve of a Mayoral election.
“Mr. Smollett is a young man of impeccable character and integrity who fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence and feels betrayed by a system that apparently wants to skip due process and proceed directly to sentencing.”
His next hearing will be on March 14.
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