Vice President Kamala Harris once called infamous hate crime hoaxer Jussie Smollett a victim of an attempted “modern day lynching.”
Now the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, Harris to this day has not deleted her 2019 social media post that repeats the false claim, even after the “Empire” actor’s criminal conviction in Illinois for the faked attack.
Smollett claimed two masked men “doused him with bleach, put a rope around his neck and said, ‘This is MAGA country!'” in the heart of Chicago during the 2019 polar vortex.
“[Jussie Smollett] is one of the kindest, most gentle human beings I know. I’m praying for his quick recovery,” California Sen. Harris posted on X, formerly Twitter, Jan. 29, 2019.
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Jussie Smollett, left, is booked Feb. 21, 2019, in Chicago. Vice President Kamala Harris, right, speaks at a campaign rally at South Carolina State University Feb. 2, 2024. (Getty Images)
“This was an attempted modern day lynching. No one should have to fear for their life because of their sexuality or color of their skin. We must confront this hate.”
Weeks later, after it became clear police were investigating Smollett for filing a false report, Harris said she was “sad, frustrated and disappointed” by news the actor made “false claims to police.”
But her initial comments were a “rush to judgment” that showed a “hasty decision before all the facts are known,” said Eugene Roy, a retired Chicago Police Department chief of detectives with more than 30 years experience on the force.
Harris’ campaign and her White House office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Empire” actor Jussie Smollett has appealed his criminal conviction in Illinois to the state Supreme Court. (Nuccio DiNuzzo)
“It’s one thing to express your support for a friend. It’s another thing to use your platform as a government official to prejudge a case before it’s played out. Before all the facts are known,” said Roy, who was featured in the Fox Nation documentary “Jussie Smollett: Anatomy of a Hoax.”
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The facts were established in court, where prosecutors presented evidence that Smollett recruited two brothers, Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, to help him stage a fake hate crime. Smollett, who is Black and gay, then falsely reported to Chicago Police that he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack by two men wearing ski masks in January 2019.
Phone records, ride-share records, video surveillance footage, GPS evidence, text messages and social media messages between Smollett and the Osundairo brothers corroborated their testimony that the incident was staged, according to court documents. A jury found Smollett guilty on five of six charges of disorderly conduct after a nearly two-week trial in 2021.
Smollett was sentenced to 150 days in jail after his conviction. The actor was also sentenced to 30 months felony probation and ordered to pay restitution to the city of Chicago in the amount of $120,106 and a fine of $25,000.
JUSSIE SMOLLETT’S APPEAL OVER HATE CRIME HOAX CONVICTION WILL BE HEARD BY ILLINOIS SUPREME COURT
Brothers Olabinjo Osundairo, right, and Abimbola Osundairo, appear outside the Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Chicago, Feb. 24, 2020. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, file)
Smollett has appealed his conviction to the Illinois Supreme Court, which in March agreed to hear his case.
“What should have been a straightforward case has been complicated by the intersection of politics and public outrage,” Smollett’s attorneys wrote in a February court filing.
Smollett’s legal team repeated an argument from previous appeals saying his 2021 trial violated his Fifth Amendment protections against double jeopardy, or being punished twice for the same crime.
They also claimed he had already performed community service and forfeited a $10,000 bond as part of a 2019 deal with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office to drop the initial 16 counts of disorderly conduct.
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Harris speaks during an NCAA championship team’s celebration on the South Lawn of the White House July 22, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Harris, a former California state attorney general, was not the only Democrat duped by Smollett’s phony story. President Biden, her rival in the Democratic primary at the time, also issued a tweet that remains online condemning the purported hate crime.
“What happened today to @JussieSmollett must never be tolerated in this country,” Biden wrote on Jan. 29, 2019. “We must stand up and demand that we no longer give this hate safe harbor; that homophobia and racism have no place on our streets or in our hearts. We are with you, Jussie.”
Roy told Fox News Digital it is unfortunate that society places more importance on “a quick sound bite” than “thorough, impartial investigation.” He said off-the-cuff reactions to high-profile legal cases can “cast a shadow” over public perception of the justice system.
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“Again, as a government official, you can express support for your friends and supporters, but you should do it in a judicious and appropriate manner that doesn’t call into question the integrity of the judicial process,” Roy said.
“People see who has made hasty judgments about controversial issues and, hopefully, they keep that in mind when they evaluate the merits of the candidates.”
Fox News Digital’s Adam Sabes, Janelle Ash and the Associated Press contributed to this report.