Prosecutor: ‘Overwhelming’ evidence Smollett faked attack

By DON BABWIN and SARA BURNETT
Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — Closing arguments are underway in the case against former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett. He’s accused of staging a racist, anti-gay attack against himself in downtown Chicago. Prosecutor Dan Webb told jurors there’s “overwhelming” evidence Smollett lied about the January 2019 attack. An attorney for Smollett is expected to give a closing argument later Wednesday. The jury is then expected to deliberate whether Smollett is guilty on six counts of a low-level felony for lying to Chicago police. On the stand, Smollett has repeatedly denied the attack was a fake, telling a prosecutor “there was no hoax on my part” and that two brothers who testified against him are “liars.”