Once again a famous person is getting preferential treatment.
Empire actor Jussie Smollett, who was just convicted of perpetrating a hate hoax based on mounds of evidence, is getting released from jail.
An appellate court ordered Jussie Smollett released on Wednesday pending the appeal of his conviction.
The ruling came after a Cook County judge sentenced Smollett last week to immediately begin serving 150 days in jail for his conviction on five felony counts of disorderly conduct for lying to police. Smollet was also sentenced to 30 months probation, ordered to pay $120,126 restitution and a $25,000 fine.
The appeals court said Smollett could be released after posting a personal recognizance bond of $150,000.
In 2019, Smollett falsely claimed that two ‘white men’ ambushed him at 2 am in 20-degree weather in downtown Chicago while screaming “This is MAGA country!”
The ‘Empire’ actor said the attackers poured bleach on him and put a noose around his neck while verbally abusing him with homophobic and racial slurs. In reality, and according to their testimony, two Nigerian brothers said Smollett paid them over $3,000 to help him pull off the “MAGA Country” hate hoax crime.
BREAKING: Convicted actor Jussie Smollett has been ordered released from jail pending appeal of his 150-day sentence imposed last week for staging a hoax hate crime on himself. https://t.co/356VqGEb8m
— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) March 16, 2022
Smollett’s attorneys had argued that he would have completed the sentence by the time the appeal process was completed and that Smollett could be in danger of physical harm if he remained locked up in Cook County Jail.
The court’s decision marks the latest chapter in a strange story that began in January 2019 when Smollett, who is Black and gay, reported to Chicago police that he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack.
The manhunt for the attackers soon turned into an investigation of Smollett himself and his arrest on charges that he’d orchestrated the attack and lied to police about it.
The investigation revealed Smollett paid two men he knew from work on the TV show “Empire” to stage the attack.
Smollett, the privileged, wealthy actor, maintained his innocence during the trial. During sentencing he shouted at the judge that he was innocent, warning the judge that he was not suicidal and if he died in custody it was somebody else, and not him, who would have taken his life.
So let me ask you a question.
What would happen to me, as a white Amerian, if I tried to set up and pull off a fake hate hoax in a conservative city in the USA?
I paid two white friends of mine to set up a fake assault taking place at 2 am, in which I told the police later, that 2 black Joe Biden supporters, who happen to be driving by, recognized me, getting out of their car, yelled racist terms, then threw bleach on me.
Following a trial with insurmountable evidence, I was convicted.
What are the odds that I would get out in less than a week?
The odds are, almost zero.
Instead, I would have been forced to stay in jail. Following the loss on the appeal, would have been let out, since my time would have already been served.
By: Eric Thompson, editor of Eric Thompson Show.
This story syndicated with permission from Eric Thompson, Author at Trending Politics