CHICAGO — For the first time since his media-firestorm trial and conviction last year, Jussie Smollett returned to Cook County court Thursday to learn his sentence for orchestrating a fake hate-crime attack that shocked the nation.
His supporters have sent a flood of letters to Judge James Linn applauding Smollett’s character and seeking leniency. City officials have written they hope Smollett is required to pay more than $130,000 in overtime costs police incurred while investigating the case.
Smollett was found guilty in December on five of six counts of disorderly conduct alleging he falsely reported to police that he was a victim of a hate crime in 2019.
