Smollett Trial Updates: Prosecution Presents Case Against Actor

Chicago IL

30 November, 2021

12:20 PM

Description

CHICAGO — As testimony in the trial of Jussie Smollett begins, his family is standing firmly behind the former "Empire" actor who is accused of staging a hate crime in 2019, saying it has been difficult to watch Smollett stand accused of something his loved ones say he didn't do. Before the trial resumed on Tuesday at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse, Smollett's brother, Jojo, read from a statement saying that claims that Smollett perpetrated a bogus hate crime and then lied about it to police have taken a toll on those closest to the actor. "It has been incredibly painful as his family to watch someone you love be accused of something they did not do," Jojo Smollett told reporters on Tuesday while reading from the letter in the lobby of the courthouse. "We're confident in his legal team and we look forward to hearing the actual facts in this case. We love him. We're here to support him, all of us, to lift him up." The unified show of public support came before prosecutors called what is among the first of many Chicago Police Department officers who were involved in the handling of the claims Jussie Smollett made when he reported the alleged hate crime to police. Prosecutors first called Det. Michael Theis who characterized Smollett's claims as a hoax and fought back against defense attorney's claims that the Chicago Police Department rushed to judgement in the case. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that the Chicago Police Department dispatched between 24 and 26 to investigate the claims made by Smollett. Smollett claims he was attacked near his Streeterville apartment in a case that Theis says it invested more than 3,000 man hours to during the winter following the supposed attack. Theis told jurors Tuesday that officers determined that the attack was a "staged event" and then was asked who orchestrated the entire thing. "Mr. Jussie Smollett," Theis said, according to the Chicago Tribune. Prosecutors have said that they plan to call a number of CPD officers and other personnel as the trial gets rolling. Prosecutors are also expected to rely heavily on Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, who said that Smollett recruited them to help stage the attack on the actor. In his testimony on Tuesday, Theis walked jurors through the investigation into the alleged attack. Smollett, who faces six counts of filing a false report to police, told officers that he was attacked by two men who poured a chemical substance on him while yelling "This is MAGA country" in support of former President Donald Trump. Prosecutors say that the two brothers were paid $3,500 by the actor to carry out the attack, of which there is no video, police said. But based on the description given by Smollett, police said they had the correct suspects. "We felt that we had to two individuals we were looking for," Theis told jurors on Tuesday. "Not only did they fit the description, they paid cash for the cab and walked for nearly a mile back home. "That told us they were trying to hide their movements." Theis was on the witness stand for more than four hours on Tuesday, according to reports. He provided a detailed account of the investigation into Smollet's claims that he had been attacked by the two men. The Tribune reported that jurors were shown a text from Smollett to the two men that had not been made public before Tuesday's court proceedings. The text, sent by Smollett to Abimbola Osundairo, read, "Brother, I love you. I stand with you. I know 1000% you and your brother did nothing wrong and never would. I am making this statement so everyone else knows. They will not get away with this. Please hit me when they let you go. I am behind you fully." The Tribune reported that shortly after the text was sent, police began to shift their attention from the brothers as the main suspects in the attack to Smollett, whom police had set up the entire plan. Theis said that that Smollett made a claim to police in a statement stating a belief that the two brothers were innocent of carrying out the attack. Asked by prosecutors if Smollett has ever come clean about the incident, Theis replied, "not that I am aware of."