Jussie Smollett has been found guilty of lying about a sickening attack in 2019.
The Empire actor claimed on Twitter that he was attacked and had a noose put around his neck by two men in ski masks who yelled “MAGA country”.
After the trial was delayed a year due to COVID, Smollett has finally been found guilty of five charges in relation to staging the incident.
Sentencing will happen during the next few weeks, but Smollett could face up to three years in prison and a $25,000 fine.
Smollett will stay free on bond in the meantime.
The actor plans to appeal the verdict and is determined to ‘clear his name’.
His defense attorney said:
“Unfortunately we were facing an uphill battle where Jussie was already tried and convicted in the media and then we had to somehow get the jury to forget or unsee all the news stories that they had been hearing that were negative for the last three years,”