Jussie Smollet Is Under Arrest After Turning Himself In
Smollett “is under arrest and in custody of detectives,” Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Thursday morning on Twitter.
The actor turned himself in this morning.
Press Briefing: Jussie Smollet is under arrest and in custody of detectives. At 9am at #ChicagoPolice Headquarters, Supt Eddie Johnson, Commander of Area Central Detectives Edward Wodnicki will brief reporters on the investigation prior to the defendants appearance in court. pic.twitter.com/9PSv8Ojec2
This comes after last night’s indictment by a grand jury that came to the conclusion that the actor fabricated his story and orchestrated his own attack.
This marks nearly month of contentious claims between Smollett and the police that appeared adversarial at times.
“Like any other citizen, Mr. Smollett enjoys the presumption of innocence, particularly when there has been an investigation like this one where information, both true and false, has been repeatedly leaked,” his attorneys said in a statement.
After Jussie, We Cannot Be Shamed Out of Supporting Victims
Like most people, I’ve been watching the Jussie Smollett story unfold with an increasing sense of dread. When the news of the attack first broke, it was terrifying. It felt like the mounting hostility toward the LGBTQ community (and the increase of anti-LGBTQ hate crimes) was being writ large for a widespread audience that can typically overlook it very easily.
Immediately, folks came out of the woodwork to question the story. Strangers, people I’ve long lost contact with, people I’ve purposefully distanced myself from because of their record of insensitive remarks were suddenly all up in my timeline eager to write the whole thing off as “fake news.” In hindsight, the skepticism feels justified, but considering the information available at the time, it was little more than a lucky guess.
After a lifetime of witnessing marginalized people be silenced, I bristled at the (often straight, often white) voices eagerly leaping to discredit his story. I’m using the word “discredit” very purposefully. They weren’t disproving, because they had no additional information than you or I or the Chicago Police Department. There was just something about this man — this black, gayman — they found inherently untrustworthy. It was a bad-faith argument I struggled to sit idly by and let stand.
All across social media, LGBTQ people, people of color and allies rushed to Jussie’s defense, myself included. In most cases, it more closely resembled “wait and see” rather than “BURN THE WITCH!” but even the suggestion that maybe we should wait until we have all the information before we label this potential victim of a hate crime a liar was enough to draw ire from the conservative keyboard warriors.
As the story continued to take twists and turns, things looked grim. In whispered conversations at bars, in DMs, in group texts, I privately fretted with my fellow queer community over the potential damage this could do if it turned out to be false. It’s beginning to look increasingly like this is the reality.
Now, queer people overall are feeling guilt, shame and humiliation for standing by him — especially in the face of the gleeful smugness of people so eager to throw an “I told you so” at them.
F*ck that.
I do not purport to ever speak for anyone other than myself. For me, I have made a decision about my personal values that I will believe victims. Period. Full stop. I understand there is a risk in that, but I sleep much better at night with that risk than with the alternative.
Now, that does not mean rushing through logic or reason. That does not mean demanding consequences without evidence. It is not guilty until proven innocent. It is merely operating in good faith under the belief that a victim is telling the truth until proven otherwise to (hopefully) dismantle a system that puts a terrible burden on victims and discourages people to come forward, thus creating a significantly less just world.
I do not feel any regret for supporting Jussie until proven otherwise. You cannot make me feel shame for having compassion. You cannot fault me for following the lead of the Chicago PD while they also repeatedly refuted claims it was a hoax and treated Jussie as a victim. (Funny how everyone is so pro-law enforcement unless they are running counter to your preferred narrative/investigating your politicians.)
I am angry that someone who should’ve known better could do something so grotesque. We all are. If it turns out this was hoax, I believe what he did was indefensible, and he should have consequences for falsifying a police report and causing immeasurable harm to the LGBTQ community. However, there is such a rush to use this bizarre and terrible story to somehow discredit LGBTQ communities and allies or suggest widespread hypocrisy and conspiracy. The thing is, in light of the truth behind Jussie’s story being revealed, the condemnation will be swift, and I would go as far to call it universal.
Can the same be said for Alex Jones’ unfounded, disgusting crusade to discredit the victims of Sandy Hook? What about the conspiracy about how Hillary Clinton ran a child sex ring out of a pizza shop basement that led to a man firing a rifle in the restaurant? Or how about the woman that accused an Obama supporter of carving a B on her face? Moreover, what about our current President’s obsession with the validity of Obama’s citizenship?
If folks are so concerned with the MAGA brand being unfairly associated with anti-LGBTQ sentiment, perhaps more energy should be directed at the official party platform which opposes marriage equality, affirms conversion therapy, supports adoption agencies rejecting same-sex parents, etc. That’s not rumor nor innuendo; that’s official party platform you can read on the official GOP website.
I am terrified about what this could mean for the many, many (many, many, many) actual LGBTQ victims of violence and how much harder this will be for them. Queer people were so deeply affected by this because it struck so close to home. I personally have been threatened with violence or death for being gay more times than I can count. And in so many ways, I am lucky.
Hey guys, Iâm new to all of this. Right now Iâm exploring the site and figuring out a few things. Once I have everything figured out I will be broadcasting. As soon as my tax refund comes in Iâm going to buy a laptop with a webcam for better quality, after I buy my car of course. Fingers crossed that I get enough money for them both. Feel free to message me and get to know me, hopefully we will be spending a lot of time together. Love you guys, see you soon.
‘We Didn’t Go In There To Talk About Our Wedding, We Went To Talk About Our Taxes’ Says Lesbian Couple Refused Service By Preparer
“We thought it was just a boring trip to the tax office, but it turned into a lot more than that,” Samantha Brazzel told NBC affiliate WTHR.
Brazzel has used the same tax preparer for four years and suddenly when she found out she was married to a woman she refused.
Nancy Fivecoate, owner of Carter Tax Service in Russiaville, Indiana, cited her religious beliefs in justifying her decision.
“I have prepared her taxes for several years,” Fivecoate said of Bailey Brazzel in a statement shared with WTHR. “This year she came in with her wife and I declined to prepare the taxes because of my religious beliefs. I am a Christian and I believe marriage is between one man and one woman. I was very respectful to them. I told them where I thought she might be able to get her taxes prepared.”
The Brazzels story has gone viral and Fivecoates is claiming that they are trying to destroy her business.
Said NBC News: “The Brazzels said they are speaking out to draw attention to the lack of LGBTQ protections in Indiana. While several cities across the state have passed ordinances protecting residents from being discriminated against based on their sexual orientation, there is no statewide law preventing discrimination based on one’s sexual orientation or gender identity. “I don’t need anyone to agree with my lifestyle or things that I do,” Bailey Brazzel said. “But if you’re going to run a business, you should be able to work with all types of people.”
Ironically Brazzel’s home state of Michigan just introduced the “Equal Dignity for Married Taxpayers Act” in Congress, which would scrub the tax code of gendered terms like “husband” and “wife” and instead replace them with neutral words like “spouse”.
