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Editor's Note: Jojo Smollett is the eldest sibling Smollett. He runs a non-profit organization that helps people with intellectual disabilities successfully reach the US workforce. The opinions expressed in this comment are those of the author and do not reflect BET's point of view.
It's not 90 days yet
since my younger brother, Jussie Smollett, was assaulted on a cold winter night in Chicago. In less than three months, his life was turned upside down as my family and I witnessed incessant attacks on his character and reputation. Like so many others, this whole process quickly evolved, making him a victim of attack, he was falsely accused and held responsible for a crime that had been perpetrated against him. To define this experience as unfair would be a euphemism.
After several leaks from "anonymous" police sources and despite a long history of unjustified charges by the Chicago Police Department, many media have accepted this unconfirmed information. The numerous police leaks, which led to an internal investigation by the Chicago police, sentenced Jussie to the court of public opinion even before he entered an courtroom. .
On February 14, the day the Osundario brothers were summoned for questioning as suspects, Fox News announced that the Chicago police communications director, in response to sources leaked to the department, had begun pass the message that Jussie would have organized the attack, declared that the police chief "contacted @ ABC7Chicago to declare on the record that we have no evidence to support their reports and that their alleged sources of PPC are misinformed and inaccurate".
If the CPD had no evidence to support the idea of a hoax, before proceeding to the maintenance of the Osundarios, then they base all their case against Jussie on this interview. The police chief later admitted that the two men had made no mention of a hoax before the last hour of their legal detention.
At that time, Jussie had already refused to sign a lawsuit against the Osundarios, convinced that these men, one whom he considered a friend and the other as an acquaintance, could not be his aggressors. More importantly, the detectives refused to show Jussie videos, photos or any evidence proving they were the attackers. The fact that these two brothers, who confessed to attacking my brother in the last hour, still say that it is Jussie who told them to do so, is proof that the police and the general public should be convinced, should scare everyone.
That's all it takes to destroy a lifetime commitment to art and community? Is it really so easy to convince the world of someone's guilt? Is it all that is needed to transform someone's life in America? Just ask yourself, "What if Jussie tells the truth?
Not having any solid evidence, many believed the false testimony of two suspects became witnesses, even if they lacked credibility. It was underreported that one of the "witnesses" had already been arrested for attempted murder, ending with a plea agreement for aggravated assault, or that the brothers had repeatedly expressed homophobia on their social media. Moreover, it has never been reported that they changed their story during police interrogation.
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