In the last few days, the investigation surrounding the alleged attack of Empire actor Jussie Smollett has twisted its way into a pretzel. The potential criminal liability continues to build as conflicting facts, false police tips, and new facts that are seeping their way into the press, emerge. Smollett alleged that while he was walking in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago, he was attacked by two men who hurled racist and homophobic slurs at him. He claims that in the midst of the attack he was doused in bleach and a noose was tied around his neck. News of the hate crime transpiring in the affluent and liberal Windy City neighborhood was met with a fierce and immediate public backlash. Celebrities, politicians, and Chicagoans rallied behind the actor in a unified attack against bigotry and racism. Since then, the case has taken multiple unexpected twists and turns resulting in the alleged victim being looked at as a potential suspect.
Recent reports have suggested that the catalyst for the alleged false claims was a threatening letter, containing a crudely drawn stick figure with a noose around its neck, sent to the studio where the show Empire is filmed. The reports suggest that the lack of the of a reaction resulting from the threat led Smollett to orchestrating his own attack in an effort to generate sympathy. Alternate theories suggest that Smollett’s future with Empire was in jeopardy, explaining his case for public attention. Recently, new that Smollett supposedly hired two known individuals and carried out a meticulously planned and rehearsed attack, surfaced. Needless to say, as the plot thickens, people are distancing themselves from their original comments and waiting for additional facts to surface.
Assuming Smollett invented the attack, what liability does he face in Illinois? Two charges come to mind, namely obstruction of justice and filing a false police report.
Obstructing Justice
Under Illinois law pursuant to 720 ILCS 5/31-1, a person who knowingly resists or obstructs the performance by one known to the person to be a peace officer, firefighter, or correctional institution employee of any authorized act within his official capacity commits a Class A misdemeanor. According to 720 ILCS 5/31-4(a) and (b) a person obstructs justice:
“when, with intent to prevent the apprehension or obstruct the prosecution or defense of any person, he knowingly commits any of the following acts:
- Destroys, alters, conceals or disguises physical evidence, plants false evidence, furnishes false information; or
- Induces a witness having knowledge material to the subject at issue to leave the State or conceal himself; or
- Possessing knowledge material to the subject at issue, he leaves the State or conceals himself.”
This offense is a Class 4 felony offense for which the punishment can be probation or between one and three years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Assuming the recent allegations against Smollett are true, they would fall under both the class A misdemeanor classification as well as the class 4 felony. He would have essentially obstructed the performance of a peace officer by making claims he knew to be false, and he has furnished false information.
Filing a False Police Report
Obstruction is not the only potential charge. If the recent reports are accurate, Smollett has intentionally filed a false police report. Filing false police report falls under the Disorderly Conduct statute in Illinois. According to 720 ILCS 5/26-1(a)(4), a person commits disorderly conduct when he knowingly transmits to the police department a false report that a crime has been committed knowing at the time of the transmission that there is no reasonable ground for it. The penalty for such an offense is a Class 4 felony punishable by 1-3 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
To find Smollett guilty of this charge, the State will have to demonstrate that he not only made the transmission, or report, but that at the time he made it, he knew it was false. As new reports emerge, the two alleged attackers seem to be paid actors who rehearsed the attack multiple times with Smollett. If this holds true and the attack was actually a stunt, Smollett’s initial claims of his alleged assault could come back to haunt him.
What can Smollet Expect
While Smollett faces misdemeanor and felony charges punishable by jail time, incarceration is not guaranteed. Several factors come into play when a defendant is sentenced, namely the severity of the crime, the defendant’s criminal history, and the stance of the victim. While making a false police report is relatively common in Chicago, it rarely generates the publicity that Smollett’s case has. Chicago Police investigated the case as a possible hate crime, the FBI became involved, and the case was peppered across newspapers, magazines, and the evening news. The claims tapped into people’s deepest emotions causing a ripple effect that culminated in coverage on Good Morning America, and celebrities and politicians issuing statements on their Twitter accounts. Given the high profile nature of the case, it might be difficult to extend any leniency to Smollett, despite many felony cases being reduced to misdemeanors for defendants with good backgrounds.
As the investigation sifts through the dark nebula of conflicting facts and reports, the outlook of a resolution is just as bleak. Either Smollett has been telling the truth all along, making him not only the victim of a hate crime, but a victim whose authenticity was mercilessly questioned, or he is a simply a self-serving fabulist, deceitful to his core.