Smollett was first indicted on 16 felony counts of disorderly conduct for filing a false police report, though Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx agreed to drop the charges if he paid $10,000 and did community service. A special prosecutor later charged him again, leading to his trial and conviction.

Nearly six years after actor Jussie Smollett was accused of staging a hate-crime hoax in downtown Chicago and lying to police, an Illinois Supreme Court decision overturned his conviction over prosecutorial issues,

The Illinois Supreme Court has overturned actor Jussie Smollett’s conviction on charges that he staged a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019 and lied to Chicago police.