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Attorneys for actor Jussie Smollett, who was recently convicted for lying after staging an attack by two alleged supporters of then-President Donald Trump, are demanding that their client be released from jail over “vicious threats,” including a phone call seemingly referencing a case involving a sodomized New York City man.
According to Rolling Stone, the lawyers for the former “Empire” actor have filed a motion for his emergency release.
“One of Smollett’s siblings received the alarming call Friday morning on the number that was given as his emergency jail contact when he was taken into custody Thursday night following sentencing for his hate hoax conviction, a Smollett spokeswoman says,” the magazine said.
“‘I hope what they do to that guy in jail — here’s what they’re going to do, right. They’re going to take a broom handle, and take that little [expletive], shove it in there, and he’s gonna’ go, [shrieking sound],’ a man’s voice says in video of the call shared by Smollett’s team on Monday,” the report continued.
That reported threat was an apparent reference to a 1997 assault on Abner Louima in Brooklyn, “in which Louima was sodomized with a broken broomstick in the bathroom of the 70th precinct by Justin Volpe, the disgraced NYPD Officer now serving 30 years for the attack,” Rolling Stone reported.
The report comes a day after Smollett’s brother, Jocqui Smollett, said that Jussie had been moved to a psychiatric ward at the Cook County jail after being locked up for his 150-day sentence for lying about a hate crime.
“So Jussie is currently in a psych ward at the Cook County Jail. What’s very concerning is that there was a note attached to his paperwork today and put in front of his jail cell saying that he’s at risk of self-harm,” Jocqui Smollett said, according to the Daily Mail.
He went on in an Instagram post to encourage supporters of his brother to create posts with the hashtag #FreeJussie.
“I want to make it clear to folks that he is in no way, shape, or form at risk of self-harm,” he said. And he wants to let folks know that he is very stable, he is very strong, he is very healthy, and ready to take on the challenge that ultimately has been put up against him.”
Shortly after he was sentenced, Jussie Smollett engaged in an odd outburst in the courtroom: “I am innocent, and I am not suicidal!”
After other high-profile figures like Jeffrey Epstein and John McAfee both allegedly committed suicide while in jail, Smollett appeared to be indicating that he wasn’t planning on harming himself and that if something happened to him, he did not do it.
The Daily Wire added:
Smollett claimed in January 2019 that he was attacked in Chicago by two white men who yelled “This is MAGA country,” a reference to President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
The actor was indicted by a grand jury in Chicago on 16 felony counts after he allegedly lied to police about being the victim of a racist and homophobic hate crime. The actor said two men attacked him at 2 a.m. when he was walking home from a sandwich shop, poured what he believed to be bleach on him, and placed a rope around his neck.
Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx later announced that her office was dropping the case. Smollett was allowed to walk free after forfeiting his $10,000 bail and performing 16 hours of community service, to which Foxx said, “I believe this is a just outcome based on the circumstances.”
But new information brought the charges back to life, and after being convicted on five of six charges. Smollett was sentenced to 150 days in jail, 30 months of probation, restitution of $120,106, and a fine of $25,000 on Thursday for his part in orchestrating a hate hoax.