Jussie Smollett was released from jail Wednesday night, hours after an Illinois state appellate court ruled he could go free while his lawyers appeal his conviction for staging a hate crime.
Smollett, 39, left jail in Chicago flanked by two of his brothers and three large bodyguards and said nothing as he was ushered into a light-colored SUV that drove away from the Cook County Detention Center around 8 p.m. local time.
Smollett had been behind bars for six days –where lawyers said he did not eat and consumed only ice water — after being sentenced to five months in jail following his conviction on five counts of felony disorderly conduct for lying to police.
Defense lawyers argued that Smollett was unconstitutionally charged twice for the same crime after the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office originally agreed to dismiss his case in 2019 in connection with the alleged false report that claimed bigoted fans of President Donald Trump attacked him with a noose and bleach.
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