Jussie Smollett marked half the country with a scarlet-letter lie — and he’s getting away with it.
Smollett staged a fake hate crime against himself, claiming that somehow, roving gangs of Donald Trump supporters were out on the streets of Chicago in the wee hours looking for minorities to attack.
In January 2019, Smollett publicly claimed that he, a black and gay actor, was attacked by two white men who were wearing MAGA hats and shouting, “This is MAGA country” and “Aren’t you that f—t n—a from ‘Empire’?” as they put a rope around his neck.
The Chicago police conducted a thorough investigation — only to discover that his portrayal was a complete fabrication.
The two men who placed a rope around his neck were brothers Abimbola and Ola Osundairo, two black men whom Jussie Smollett paid to participate in this elaborate hoax.
The incident added poison to our already tense political discourse. It libeled Trump voters and undermined anyone who was truly a victim of an attack.
Soft-on-crime State’s Attorney Kim Foxx was quick to cover it up. She hastily dropped Smollett’s charges from a felony to a misdemeanor, to avoid the risk of damaging the reputation of a Hollywood Democrat — or, more importantly, make Trump and his supporters look like victims.
Rightly outraged, a special prosecutor was appointed to take over the case. Smollett was found guilty and sentenced to serve 150 days in county jail and ordered to pay $120,000 in restitution to the city of Chicago.
Now Smollett has been set free on a technicality, leaving victimized Americans without the justice our country deserves.
Despite the abundance of evidence against Smollett, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that the original plea deal he was given by Foxx had to be honored.
Our legal system is supposed to operate based on impartial truth, but it’s very clear that Smollett was given the privilege of receiving a tap on the wrist because of his fame and loyalty to the Democratic Party.
Smollett is an exploiter of the weaknesses in modern America surrounding the topic of race and Donald Trump.
Smollett did not care about the repercussions of perpetuating this elaborate lie as long as he benefited from our destruction.
What if everyone, including law enforcement, took his accusations at face value like many other previous racial hoaxes? What if Chicagoans believed that those two mystery white MAGA men could be their neighbors, family or friends? What if they thought these sorts of random racial attacks were really happening?
Predatory exploiters like Smollett are intent on robbing us of our innocence and goodwill only to pawn it for attention and career-changing adulation.
If Smollett were never caught, it would have been one more example the media use to divide us, reopening the wounds of political division. And yet he still would have slept comfortably as a martyr for the left.
At his core, Smollett is a sociopath who is unapologetic and refuses to acknowledge his sinful act to turn Americans against each other for his gain.
Smollett is still gaslighting Americans by proclaiming his innocence, despite countless pieces of evidence against him and witness testimony verifying his tale of hatred as a fable.
The Illinois state ruling wasn’t based on the merits of his conviction and Americans should remember this when he tries to stage a comeback. He is not exonerated. He is dodging responsibility.
Adam B. Coleman is the author of “Black Victim to Black Victor” and founder of Wrong Speak Publishing.