Vice President Kamala Harris once referred to “Empire” star and notorious hate crime hoaxer Jussie Smollett as a victim of an attempted “modern day lynching” before the all facts in the case came to light.
Smollet infamously claimed he was attacked by two men in ski masks who doused him with bleach, put a rope around his neck and called him racial and hom*ophobic slurs while he was out walking in Chicago during a freezing winter night in 2019.
The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee has still not deleted her tweet from 2019 when she threw her support behind the actor’s later-disproved allegations.
“[Jussie Smollett] is one of the kindest, most gentle human beings I know. I’m praying for his quick recovery,” Harris posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Jan. 29, 2019, when she was serving as a California senator.
“This was an attempted modern day lynching. No one should have to fear for their life because of their sexuality or color of their skin. We must confront this hate.”
Weeks later, when it was revealed Smollett was under investigation for falsifying a police report, Harris posted that she was “sad, frustrated and disappointed” after learning he made “false claims to police.”
Eugene Roy, a retired Chicago Police Department chief of detectives who helped expose Smollett’s lies,told Fox Newsthat Harris, a former California attorney general, rushed to make a judgment and made a “hasty decision before all the facts are known.”
“It’s one thing to express your support for a friend. It’s another thing to use your platform as a government official to prejudge a case before it’s played out,” said Roy, who was featured in the outlet’s documentary “Jussie Smollett: Anatomy of a Hoax.”
Smollett was charged for recruiting two brothers he knew from his hit TV show, Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, to help him orchestrate the incident.
Smollett, who is black and gay, subsequently filed a sham police report alleging that two white men in MAGA hats attacked him for his race and sexuality.
An investigation, which included phone records, ride-share-records, surveillance footage and message exchanges between the actor and the brothers confirmed that they were paid to stage the attack.
Following a two week trial, Smollet wasconvictedon five of six charges of disorderly conduct in 2021.
He wassentencedto 150 days in jail and 30 months probation. The “Mighty Ducks” actor was additionally ordered to pay restitution to the city of Chicago in the amount of $120,106 and a fine of $25,000.
What to know about President Biden's decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race:
- President Biden announced Sunday he is dropping out of the 2024 presidential race — after weeks of prominent Democrats and donors calling on him to withdraw following his disastrous performance in the first presidential debate.
- In a letter posted on X Sunday afternoon, Biden admitted that it is in the “best interest of my party and country” for him to step down as the Democratic nominee.
- Biden wrote that he intends to serve out the remainder of his term and will address the country on his decision later this week.
- In a follow-up X post, Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the suddenly open Democratic nomination. “Today I want to offer my full support and endorsem*nt for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year,” the president wrote.
- Former President Donald Trump reacted to the news by labeling Biden the “worst president in the history of our country” in a call with CNN.
His conviction wasupheld by an appeals courtin December. The Illinois Supreme Court agreed to hear his case in March.
“What should have been a straightforward case has been complicated by the intersection of politics and public outrage,” Smollett’s attorneys wrote in a February court filing, according to Fox News.
Smollett’s legal team repeated the argument from the appeals claim saying his 2021 trial violated his Fifth Amendment protections against double jeopardy — or being punished twice for the same crime.
His attorney’s also said he’s already performed community service and paid a $10,000 bond as part of his plea deal with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.
President Biden, Harris’ rival in the Democratic primary at the time, also condemned the phony hate crime in 2019.
“What happened today to @JussieSmollett must never be tolerated in this country,” Biden tweeted on Jan. 29, 2019. “We must stand up and demand that we no longer give this hate safe harbor; that hom*ophobia and racism have no place on our streets or in our hearts. We are with you, Jussie.”
Roy told Fox News that premature statements from public officials while an investigation is still ongoing can “cast a shadow” over public perception of the justice system.
“People see who has made hasty judgments about controversial issues and, hopefully, they keep that in mind when they evaluate the merits of the candidates.,” he said.
