• All 16 felony counts against Jussie Smollett have been dropped
  • While Smollett is already proclaiming his innocence, prosecutors say he isn’t at all – that the parties simply agreed to an “alternative disposition.”
  • That agreement was sealed with 16 hours of community service and Smollett forfeiting his $10-thousand bond.

What can a couple of days of volunteer service and $10-thousand get you? If you’re Jussie Smollett, it gets more than a dozen felony charges dropped – and your record scrubbed clean. In a stunning reversal, prosecutors have dropped all charges against the “Empire” actor – saying instead that they’ve agreed to an “alternative disposition.”

What does Smollet say? That he’s glad he’s been cleared. What does the State’s Attorney say? That he hasn’t been cleared at all. “This was not an exoneration. To say that he was exonerated by us or anyone is not true,” explains Joe Magats, Cook County First Assistant State’s Attorney. “We believe he did what he was charged with doing.”

So what gives? As Magats sees it, Smollett being charged with a low level felonies combined with the fact that Smollett has “no prior felony background, no history of violence” means that he’s “not a driver of violence,” which is what they’re interested in prosecuting. So with hours of community service performed (16 hours performed in recent days) and forfeiting his $10-thousand bond, it’s over – at least on a state level. All records associated with the case have also been sealed.

  • As you might imagine, police are less than thrilled. Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson says justice was not served and that Smollett is “hiding behind a brokered deal” and “a whitewash.”
  • Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel says Smollett “used hate crime laws to advance his career” and added that he fears victims of hate crimes will be doubted after this case.
  • ONE MORE THING! While the state-level charges have been dropped, Smollett could still face prosecution on a federal level for sending the hoax letter associated with the incident. There is no indication whether that will happen or not.

Source: ABC 7