Maxine Waters has defended hate hoaxer Jussie Smollett, praising state prosecutor Kim Foxx’s decision to drop all charges against the actor.
“It’s the correct thing that the charges were dropped,” said the 80-year-old Democratic Congresswoman from California in a Sunday interview with Extra at the NAACP Image Awards.
Zerohedge.com reports: “First of all, we probably will never know all of the details. We’ve heard a lot of information,” said Waters.
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“No one was hurt — that is, physically, killed, shot — he never committed a crime before, he forfeited the bail and it’s this kind of situation where they close the case all over the country every day. I have learned this isn’t unusual.“
Smollett, 36, was charged with 16 felony counts for allegedly filing a false police report after he claimed he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack in which two men beat him, placed a rope around his neck and poured a chemical substance on him while yelling racist and homophobic slurs. Smollett later told police that the men shouted “This is MAGA country!” – a phrase the actor’s manager claims he heard as he spoke with Smollett on the phone during the ‘attack.’
The two men who conspired with Smollett are two Nigerian-born brothers and friends of the actor, who say Smollett paid them $3,500 to stage the attack. They were caught on video surveillance footage buying ski masks and black hats, while they later admitted to filling a hot-sauce bottle with the bleach that was thrown on Smollett. Of note, they also placed a noose around Smollett’s neck which he was still wearing when police arrived to his apartment later that evening.
At the 11th hour – as the two brothers and the Chicago PD were prepared to testify against Smollett – the charges against him were unexpectedly dropped, infuriating police and mayor Rahm Emanuel, who called it a “whitewash of justice.”
While Smollett has maintained his innocence, Cook County prosecutors said that he was not exonerated – but that 16 hours of ‘community service‘ he had previously done was a sufficient punishment. Smollett’s service to the community consisted of visiting Rev. Jesse Jackson’s civil rights group, and speaking with high school kids thinking about going to college.
