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Second brother testified that Smollett paid for the staged attack

CHICAGO – The state settled its case at the trial of Jussie Smollett on Thursday after key testimony from two brothers who said the former “Empire” actor plotted a racist and anti-social attack. gay people in downtown Chicago and pay them to do it.

After three days of presenting evidence, special counsel Dan Webb told the presiding judge on Thursday night that the prosecution was over. The defense began the case immediately, calling Brandon Moore, Smollett’s music director at the time.

Earlier in the day, Smollett’s attorney worked to discredit the brothers’ accounts, alleging that they attacked Smollett because they didn’t like him, and tried to get him to pay them $1 million each. dollars to not testify that he staged the attack.

Defense attorney Shay Allen argued that the brothers were motivated to accuse Smollett of staging the hoax because they didn’t like the performer – gay and black – and then saw an opportunity to make money.

Olabingo Osundairo’s testimony echoes a story his brother, Abimbola Osundairo, had given before the witness counter the day before, including that Smollett wanted the brothers to fill up with gas and put a noose around his neck, and that Smollett gave them a $100 bill to buy supplies and paid with a check for $3,500.

Olabingo Osundairo said Smollett told him he received hate mail at the TV studio in Chicago “and he got the crazy idea of ​​having two MAGA supporters attack him,” an obvious reference. clearly to the slogan “Make America Great Again” of President Donald Trump at that time. Osundairo believes the plan was to make the attack public on social media, not involving the police, he said.

Osundairo said they chose to pour bleach on Smollett because he did not feel comfortable using gasoline. He said Smollett wanted his brother to do the punch, and it would be like he hit back.

Osundairo also settled a defense dispute that the two brothers were motivated by homophobia. He testified that he had nothing against homosexuals, and the jury was shown a photo of the siblings participating in the 2015 gay pride parade in Chicago dressed as warriors. trojan soldiers.

Smollett, 39, was charged with six counts of disorderly conduct for making what prosecutors said was a fake police report of the alleged January 29 assault. in 2019 – one charge per report – to three different police officers. The fourth-degree felony carries a sentence of up to three years in prison, but experts say if Smollett is found guilty he could potentially be placed on probation and ordered to do community service.

Olabingo Osundairo also denied being involved with a white person, or that he and his brother even wore masks or makeup to appear as though they were white. In statements mocked by many because the brothers were Black, Smollett said he had seen white or pale skin around the eyes of one of his masked attackers.

During the cross-examination, Allen asked Abimbola Osundairo, who had worked as the head of the movie “Empire” in Chicago, if he would try to land a $5,000-a-week job as a was Smollett’s guard and whether after he was questioned by the police and released he told Smollett that he and his brother would not testify at his trial if each was paid 1 million U.S. dollar. Osundairo replied “No sir” to both of them.

During Webb’s subsequent interrogation, Osundairo said he never thought Smollett would go to the police to report the fake assault as an actual hate crime. He said Smollett told him he wanted to use it to get media attention and that he had never lied to Chicago police.

Olabingo Osundairo told jurors he spoke to police without the promise of immunity or any form of favorable settlement. He added: “It was simply to bring out the truth about what happened that night.”

Smollett’s legal team needed to question the brothers’ harmful testimony, but it wasn’t easy. Abimbola Osundairo stuck with his story during cross-examination, while also denying he had an affair with Smollett or that he asked the actor to hire him. And much of what Osundairos told the jury about that night appears to be corroborated by video and other evidence.

Smollett’s legal team asked Olabingo Osundairo about a previous felony conviction, which he testified in 2012, because of an extra heavy battery. As a convicted felon, he cannot legally possess a gun, but police found several guns when they searched their home following the alleged assault. Both brothers said the guns belonged to Abimbola Osundairo.

The defense said the brothers lied about Smollett orchestrating the attack to get out of trouble because gun possession and heroin was also found in the home.

Abimbola Osundairo, an aspiring actor, said he and his brother agreed to take on their roles in the mock attack because he felt indebted to Smollett for helping him in his acting career.

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Associated Press journalist Michael Tarm contributed to this report.

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