How did we get here and what’s next?

About six years after the actor Jussie Smollett Charged with staging a hate crime hoax in downtown Chicago and lying to police, the Illinois Supreme Court overturned his conviction on prosecutorial issues on Thursday.

The court ruled that a special prosecutor should not have been allowed to intervene after Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx dropped charges against the former “Empire” actor.

“We recognize that this case has generated significant public interest and that many people are dissatisfied with the resolution of the original case and believe it to be unfair,” Judge Elizabeth M. Rochford wrote in the court’s 5-0 ruling. decisionTwo judges abstained.

“The second prosecution was barred because the original charges were dismissed as part of the agreement with the defendant and the defendant fulfilled his part of the agreement,” Rochford said.

Smollett’s case, which emerged in early 2019, saw a shift from widespread sympathy to soon-to-be skepticism, and his character was scrubbed from the Fox television show as the details that emerged raised questions about the actor’s claims about events that unfolded during the alleged assault.

This week’s ruling did not address Smollett’s claims of innocence, which he has maintained since 2019, according to his legal team.

Smollett’s lead attorney, Nenye Uche, said the original case should never have gone to trial and would not have done so if his client had been just “an ordinary Joe down the street.”

“This was revengeful persecution. This was not a prosecution,” Uche said.

“I’m sure Jussie would want an apology but he’s a realistic guy, isn’t he? “He knows he can’t get it,” he added.

Speaking to CNN’s Laura Coates late Thursday, Foxx said the Supreme Court’s decision validated “what I learned in my first semester of law school.”

“You can’t try someone twice for the same crime,” he said. “This proves that we should never have been here in the first place because we find ourselves where we were in March 2019.”

Special Prosecutor Dan K. Webb expressed disappointment in the court’s decision to overturn the conviction and sentence, which included paying Chicago more than $120,000 in reimbursement for overtime expenses incurred while investigating the alleged fraud.

Webb said in a statement that Thursday’s verdict “does not clear Jussie Smollett’s name, he is not innocent.”

According to Webb, the City of Chicago is still able to pursue its ongoing civil lawsuit against Smollett in a bid to recoup more than $120,000.

Brothers Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo, who said they were paid by Smollett to help carry out the planned attack, told CNN they agreed with the court’s decision.

“We agree with this decision,” Olabinjo Osundairo told CNN’s Laura Coates on Friday. “The real injustice and evil was committed by Kim Foxx’s office, who allowed Smollett to get away with scot-free without admitting guilt for what he did.”

How did we get here

The case’s many twists and turns began early on Jan. 29, 2019, when Smollett, who is Black and identifies as gay, told police he was attacked near his Chicago apartment by two men who shouted racist and homophobic slurs at him.

Smollett said the men put a noose around his neck and poured an unknown chemical onto him, according to the Chicago Police Department at the time.

The actor also claimed that one of the men he said attacked him shouted, police said, “This is MAGA country.” Authorities initially investigated the incident as a hate crime.

The actor initially received broad support from advocacy groups, peers, other celebrities and politicians (including then-President Donald Trump). rallied behind him following the alleged hate crime attack.

In a statement thanking his fans in 2019, Smollett said, 100% real and consistent at every level,” he said in response to doubts about the integrity of the story.

But February 2019 Confession from two brothers Being interrogated about the attack quickly led to the unraveling of Smollett’s account and credibility.

Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo, stories as relevant persons In that month’s incident, he told Chicago authorities the attack was a hoax an hour before his 48-hour detention period expired.

Smollett paid them $3,500 Then-Chicago Police Commissioner Eddie Johnson said he planned to carry out this staged attack in order to “leverage the pain and anger of racism to further his career.”

“From what we can tell, the scratches and bruising you see on his face were most likely self-inflicted,” Johnson said in late February 2019.

Smollett was arrested faced a serious charge He was arrested for disorderly conduct for allegedly filing a false police report and was released on bail.

The Osundairo brothers, who later testified against Smollett, told investigators that Smollett was initially “trying to get attention by sending a fake letter based on racist, homophobic and political language,” according to Johnson.

A letter arrived on the Chicago set of “Empire” a week before the alleged attack.

Police said it contained white powder (later revealed to be aspirin) and a drawing of “a stick figure hanging from a tree.” According to prosecutors, Smollett told Abimbola Osundairo that he was disappointed in the “Empire” team’s reaction to the letter.

then Smollett I paid money to the brothers Chicago authorities said they took action to carry out the attack.

The Osundairo brothers were released without charge, and Smollett denied the allegation that a hoax was planned.

Olabinjo Osundairo addressed Smollett on Friday, telling the actor to “tell the truth.”

“This is America, people believe in second chances in this country,” he said. “And I believe that if he had come forward and told the truth from the beginning, this would be behind us, people would have forgiven him, and we could all move on with our lives.”

Initial charges dropped ahead of grand jury indictment

In March 2019, a Cook County grand jury indicted Smollett on 16 counts of disorderly conduct. The indictment stated that he gave separate statements with different details to a Chicago police officer and a detective after the alleged attack.

Smollett He did not admit his guilt to the accusations.

A spokesman for Foxx’s office said he removed himself from the case shortly before the charges were announced to address impartiality concerns “due to familiarity with potential witnesses in this case.”

Later that month, prosecutors dropped all charges vs. Smollett. The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office said the decision came after reviewing the case and agreeing to forfeit Smollett’s $10,000 bond, CNN previously reported.

Chicago city officials condemned the move, and Johnson said he supported investigators’ conclusion that the attack was a hoax.

In June 2019, a Cook County district judge approved the appointment of a special prosecutor to conduct an independent investigation into Smollett’s case.

Also that month, Chicago police released body camera footage from the night of the alleged attack, showing the actor with a noose around his neck. Police released the tape along with some text messages, more than 70 hours of video and more than 400 pages of search warrants. to the media.

In January 2020, a judge ordered Google to turn the case over to the special prosecutor more than a year’s worth personal electronic data from Smollett, including geolocation information, search history and photographs.

The following month, grand jury indicted He accused Smollett of filing a false report after Webb said his office had completed investigative steps in the case and decided to prosecute him further.

Smollett was accused of making four counts of making false reports to Chicago officers, according to a statement from Webb’s office at the time. Smollett He did not admit his guilt through his lawyer.

He was found guilty of five of six felonies in December 2021 and sentenced to 30 months of felony probation in March 2022, which carries a 150-day prison sentence. He was also ordered to pay $120,000 in restitution and be fined $25,000. making a fake police report.

Smollett remained in jail for less than a week after an Illinois appeals court filed an emergency request from his attorneys to delay his sentence and release him on bail until the appeal is resolved. CNN previously reported.

What could happen next in Smollett’s career?

Smollett returned to the screen earlier this year with the movie “The Lost Holliday”, in which he directed and starred. The role marks his first on-screen appearance since his character on “Empire” was written off shortly after his role in 2019. arrest.

In the nearly six years since his arrest, Smollett has remained determined to clear his name.

“I don’t want a felony on my record for something I didn’t do,” Smollett said in an interview last month. Entertainment Tonight Nischelle Turner.

“This is what we are fighting for. On the surface, you’re probably wondering, ‘Why doesn’t he get punished, why doesn’t he just let this go?’ I know it looks like If I had actually done this, it would have been easier to say I did it. I wouldn’t spend almost $3 million of my own money. I wouldn’t have a hearing,” Smollett told ET.

HE It was reported that he was receiving treatment Last year due to substance abuse.

Smollett said in an interview with ET that he felt he deserved a second chance as a pro.

“No matter how many people yell at me and say, ‘You’re a liar, you’re a liar,’ no, I’m not. No I’m not. I don’t want them to believe that,” Smollett said.

“I didn’t change my story. I haven’t changed anything I said,” he told ET. “I stand by everything I’ve said so far. Everyone, every single person in this situation, has changed their story over and over.”

CNN’s Chris Boyette, Bill Kirkos, Omar Jimenez, Steve Almasy, Ashley Killough, Andy Rose, Paradise Afshar and Christina Maxouris contributed to this report.

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