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An Illinois judge on Thursday ordered that the criminal record of the actor "Empire" Jussie Smollett not be sealed, which resulted in the publication of a mine of 39, Information about the controversial case – and often confusing.
The decision of Steven G. Watkins, Cook County Judge, comes several months after a series of vertiginous events: Smollett alleged to have been a victim of a hate crime; after thorough investigation, Chicago police arrested Smollett and accused him of simulating the alleged attack; and then, the Cook County attorneys suddenly dropped the charges against Smollett and his case was sealed.
But not anymore, at least soon.
When the district attorney asked if the office would have more time to delete the personal information from the records, Watkins advised prosecutors "to act as if the documents were never sealed".
In January, Smollett made the headlines when he filed a police report claiming that two masked men had attacked him, had passed a rope around his neck and had poured him some bleach while he was returning home after a fast food. Smollett, who is black and openly gay, said the masked men had beaten him, made racist and homophobic comments and shouted: "This is MAGA country" – a reference to the slogan "Make America Great Again" of President Trump – before fleeing the scene.
ONETIME MICHELLE OBAMA, A STAFF EVOLVING IN A SMOLLETT-FOXX CASE, THE SERVER OF PROCESSES SAID
But as the police investigated the case, they began to take a closer look at Smollett.
A surveillance video allegedly revealed the brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo, who lived in the Smollett building, buying a rope similar to that used during the alleged attack. Eventually, the brothers reportedly told the police that Smollett had paid them to help simulate the attack.
Smollett was arrested for allegedly filing a false police report and faced 16 counts of disorderly behavior arising from the incident. But in a short and amazing hearing, Cook County Lawyer Kim Foxx dropped the lawsuit against Smollett, although his bail was lost.
Smollett maintained his innocence and insisted that the hate attack was real. But the city of Chicago is suing the actor to recover the resources devoted to investigating the alleged hoax.
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Meanwhile, the brothers involved in the incident are suing Smollett's lawyers for defamation.
Roth-Kyle Rothenberg and Jessica Sager of Fox News contributed to this report.
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