TNN
an appeals court has upheld the disorderly conduct convictions of actor
Jesse Smet who was accused of orchestrating a racist and homophobic
attack against himself in 2019 and then lying about it to the Chicago
Police Smet known for his role in the TV show Empire challenged various aspects
of the case including the role of a special prosecutor jury selection and
evidence however the Illinois appet court rejected all of his arguments in a two
to opinion Smet had initially reported to the police that he was attacked by two
men wearing ski masks who targeted him because of his race and sexual
orientation however the investigation soon turned towards smallet himself and
he was arrested on charges of orchestrating the
attack authorities claimed that he had paid two men who who were also
associated with Empire to carry out the assault in 2021
smallet was convicted by a jury on five felony counts of
disorderly conduct which is a charge filed in Illinois when a person lies to
the police as part of his sentence He was
ordered to serve a 150-day jail term however smallet only spent 6 days
in jail while his appeal was pending in respon respon to the Court’s
decision a spokesperson for smallet stated that they plan to continue
fighting the conviction they highlighted that the
decision was not unanimous with Justice
fredr ly offering a detailed analysis in favor of
Smet the spokesperson mentioned their
intention to escalate the matter to the Supreme Court armed with substantial
evidence the special prosecutor assigned to the case Dan Webb expressed his
belief that smallet should serve his his 150-day jail
sentence he stated that this ruling marks the end of the road for smallet as
he only has one right of appeal under Illinois
Law Webb explained that Smet could try to appeal to the Illinois Supreme
Court but it would be at the discretion of the court to hear his
case if the Supreme Court does not take up the appeal smallet would soon be
serving his jail term smallet lawyers who have publicly
claimed that he was a victim of a racist justice system and political
manipulation argued that his convictions should be thrown
out Justice ly the Appellate judge agreed with this argument stating that
it was fundamentally unfair to appoint a special prosecutor and charge smallet
after he had already completed Community Service as part of a previous deal with
Cook County Prosecutors Webb countered these claims
emphasizing that smallet should be held to the the same standard as everyone
else he stated that there are not two systems of Justice one for the Rich and
Famous and another for everyone else Webb acknowledged small et’s right
to claim innocence but maintained that the evidence against him was
overwhelming leading to his conviction on five out of six
counts he concluded that Smet had received a fair trial and had his day in
court.