Jussie Smollett conviction upheld by Illinois appeals court

An Illinois appeals court upheld actor Jussie Smollett’s conviction for a staged hate crime in an opinion filed Friday.

A jury previously found Smollett guilty of five of the six charges of disorderly conduct against him after a nearly two-week trial in 2021. Smollett, who is Black and gay, reported to Chicago Police that he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack by two men wearing ski masks in January 2019. 

The manhunt for the attackers soon turned into an investigation of Smollett and his subsequent arrest on charges he’d orchestrated the attack and lied to police about it.

This is a developing story and will be updated. Fox News Digital’s Tracy Wright contributed to this report.