Jussie Smollett placed in jail psych ward after court outburst, brother Jocqui outraged
Jocqui Smollett, Jussie Smollett's brother, alleges that the newly convicted 'Empire' actor was wrongfully declared at risk of self-harm by Cook County, Illinois jail officials and was relocated to a mental unit as he begins his five-month term. The choice to isolate his brother was 'angering,' according to Jocqui, who reaffirmed Jussie's claims of innocence made at his sentence hearing.
“What’s very concerning is that there was a note attached to his paperwork today and clipped on the front of his jail cell saying that he’s at risk of self-harm,” Jocqui said in a video posted to the actor's Instagram account on Saturday (March 12). Jocqui added, “I want to just make it clear to folks that he is in no way, shape, or form at risk of self-harm. He wants to let folks know that, 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.” “This is not right. This is completely, a lack of justice. It’s angering. It’s an outrage,” he concluded.
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According to the New York Post, Jussie Smollett, 39, was sentenced to 150 days in prison on Thursday (March 10) after being found guilty of five counts of disorderly conduct for making false allegations to Chicago police in January 2019 that he was verbally and physically assaulted by two men. Smollett was suspected of fabricating the attack by paying two brothers to attack him, according to an investigation. Throughout the sentencing hearing, Smollett insisted that he is not suicidal and that any suffering he endures during his imprisonment is not his fault.
A law-enforcement source told TMZ that the troubled actor was in the psych ward since it's one of the locations in the jail where high-profile offenders are confined. After an eight-day trial, Jussie Smollett was found guilty of five counts of felony disorderly conduct arising from a staged assault in 2019. The actor claimed he was the victim of a racist, homophobic attack in downtown Chicago in 2019, but police subsequently discovered that he plotted the crime with two brothers because he was upset with his ‘Empire’ income.
