Ex-Empire actor Jussie Smollett has been found guilty of falsely reporting to police that he had been a victim of a hate crime.
According to Associated Press, jurors found Smollett guilty on five counts of disorderly conduct pertaining to a police report he filed on January 20, 2019.
Smollett now faces up to three years in prison for disorderly conduct, however experts believe that the actor is likely to be put on probation.
In a statement Smollett’s lawyer, Nenye Uche said he would be appealing the conviction, adding that his client is determined to “clear his name.”
“Unfortunately we were facing an uphill battle where Jussie was already tried and convicted in the media,” Uche said.
In January, 2019, Smollett filed a police, in which he claimed two masked men had assaulted him and shouted racist and homophobic slurs. The two men later claimed that Smollett had paid them to attack him.
Read more on Smollett’s case here.
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