Jussie Smollett was released from Cook County Jail after posting $150K bond. He was initially sentenced to 150 days, which is approximately 5 months.
UPDATE (3/16/2022 @ 10:30 p.m. EST): Jussie has been released from prison. The 39-year-old wore a face mask as he was surrounded by five security guards leaving Cook County Jail in Chicago after paying $150K bond. He declined to comment as he walked past media and camera crews and got into a car.
ORIGINAL STORY: Jussie Smollett will be released from jail after only six days. Per court documents obtained by HollywoodLife, Jussie will be able to walk free after he posts a $150,000 bond. The actor, 39, was initially sentenced to 150 days (approximately five months) at the Cook County Jail in Chicago, Illinois. The news comes amid reports that he been fasting for several days due to Lent, which began on March 3. He’s also made moves to appeal to his sentencing.
Beyond his initial prison sentence of 150 days, he also faces 30 months of felony probation per Chicago’s Judge James Linn. He was also forced to pay $120,106 in restitution and $25,000 in fines. The judge had a very strong message to deliver to Jussie as he was announcing his sentence. “There’s acute public interest in this case. People seem to care passionately and the reasons are many,” the judge said. “There is nothing I can do today than the damage you have done to your own life. You have destroyed your own life as you know it.”
Jussie Smollett in court (TANNEN MAURY/Shutterstock)
Jussie also spoke at the hearing and gave a passionate speech, maintaining his innocence. “I am not suicidal. I am innocent,” he declared. “If I did this then it means I stuck my fist in the fears of Black Americans in This country of over 400 years in this country and the years of the LGBT community…if anything happens to me when I’m in there, I did not do it to myself and you must all know that. I respect you your honor and your decision.”
Jussie was charged with five counts of disorderly conduct for staging a hate crime and filing a false police report in December 2021. In 2019, Jussie had filed a report claiming that he was attacked by two Trump supporters in a hate crime, stating that they tied a noose around his neck. He was also found guilty of charging Abimbola “Bola” and Olabinjo “Ola” Osundairo $3500 to stage the attack.
