Jussie Smollett Pleads Not Guilty to 16 Felony Counts

Jussie Smollett confidently showed up to the Cook County courthouse for his arraignment on Thursday. The disgraced Empire actor was greeted by protestors shouting, “We are here to support black people. We are here today to support LGBTQ people.”

When the proceedings began the actor entered a not guilty plea. TMZ reports that he is required to appear at every court date and was granted permission to travel to Los Angeles and New York for appointments with his attorneys. However, he’ll have to give the courts 48-hour notice and check back in within 24 hours when he returns to Chicago.

In January Jussie Smollett claims he was a victim of a hate crime but it turns out that he allegedly staged the whole thing. Subsequently, he’s facing over 60 years in jail and was axed from the remaining episodes of the current season of Empire.

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