It was “The Dumbest ‘Hate Crime’ Hoax Ever.” Because no intelligent person ever believed Jussie Smollett’s tale of being assaulted by MAGA-hat-wearing white men — in Chicago, at 2 o’clock in the morning, when the temperature was below freezing — his decision to go to trial meant that he was attempting jury nullification. Fortunately, he has failed:
A jury found disgraced actor and former “Empire” star Jussie Smollett guilty on five of six charges in a case where he is accused of staging an anti-gay, racist attack on himself nearly three years ago and then lied to Chicago police about it.
The verdict came after a roughly one-week trial in which two brothers testified that Smollett recruited them to fake an attack on him near his home in downtown Chicago in January 2019. Smollett repeatedly denied the claims. The brothers said Smollett orchestrated the hoax, telling them to put a noose around his neck and rough him up in view of a surveillance camera, and that he said he wanted video of the hoax made public via social media.
Smollett called the brothers “liars” and said their account was “100% false. He testified over two days about being the victim of what he said was a hate crime, telling the jury ”there was no hoax.”
Abimbola Osundairo, who worked with Smollett on the Chicago set of “Empire,” and his brother, Olabingo Osundairo, also testified that Smollett paid them $3,500 for faking the attack. Smollett said the money was for meal and workout plans that Abimbola Osundairo was providing so the actor could be more toned for upcoming performances.
The Jan. 29 assault was reported to police, prompting a massive investigation that a lead detective said included some two dozen officers and 3,000 staff hours. The investigation — which included video from surveillance cameras, GPS and taxi and rideshare records — led police to the Osundairo brothers, who told detectives Smollett had staged the alleged hate crime.
Smollett’s defense attorneys argued that the brothers attacked the actor — who is gay and Black — because they were homophobic and didn’t like “who he was.” They also alleged the brothers made up the story about the attack being staged to get money from Smollett, and that they told him they wouldn’t testify against him if he paid them each $1 million.
The class 4 felony carries a prison sentence of up to three years, but experts have said Smollett would likely be placed on probation and ordered to perform community service.
We have the receipts of Democrats who promoted this hoax:
Will there be any consequences for Biden, Harris, AOC and the other Democrats who pretended to believe this hoax? Because I don’t believe they ever really did believe it. As I say, every intelligent person recognized this as a hoax from the very moment it was first reported, and I do not think any of these people — not even AOC — is so stupid as to have thought this was really “an attempted modern day lynching.” No, they knew it was a lie, and deliberately amplified it, as a dishonest slander against every Republican (and every white person) in America.
How much money does the failed ex-NFL quarterback have? Kyle Rittenhouse’s lawyers should first (a) research Kaepernick’s net worth, then (b) sue him for that amount, and (c) take all his money.
People are going to have be schooled about libel, and it seems appropriate that Colin Kaepernick should be front of the class.
Although I’m not a lawyer, permit me to explain the “public figure” loophole in U.S. libel law, i.e., the Sullivan precedent. This is important to know — if someone is a “public figure,” a category that includes politicians and pro athletes, you can write damned near anything about them and have little risk of losing a libel suit, because the plaintiff in such a case must prove “actual malice.” People who are ignorant of libel law (a category that apparently includes a lot of blue-check Twitter types like Kaepernick) are prone to think they have license to say anything about anybody. But you can’t lie about an ordinary citizen the way the media lied about Donald Trump, which is why Nicholas Sandmann (a high school kid, not a public figure) ended up winning settlements from the Washington Post and CNN. Anyone who thinks it’s fair game to accuse Kyle Rittenhouse, an innocent teenager who was acquitted at trial, of being a “white supremacist” engaged in “terroristic acts” needs an education, and forcing Colin Kaepernick to defend those libelous claims in court would be a splendid educational opportunity.
Whatever else the flaws of “our current system” may be, it ought to function well enough to bankrupt Colin Kaepernick.
Good luck with that jury in Kenosha, Mr. Kaepernick.
This kid Rittenhouse was a lot more accurate under pressure than you were @Kaepernick7 during your 3-16 streak that lost you your job in the NFL.
A 49-year-old Brooklyn man has been arrested for allegedly setting a huge Christmas tree outside the FOX News building in midtown Manhattan ablaze early Wednesday, causing a wild scene and endangering passersby, police said. Craig Tamanaha was taken into custody at the West 48th Street and Sixth Avenue scene just after midnight and charged hours later with a bevy of crimes, including arson, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and trespassing, the NYPD said.
Police officials said the fire, which was deemed international by fire marshals, caused an estimated $500,000 in property damage in addition to unnecessarily frightening anyone who happened to walk by as the stunning scene developed.
No injuries were reported, but FOX News Media CEO Suzanne Scott blasted the incident as a “malicious arson attack” in a company-wide email sent Wednesday.
It wasn’t immediately clear how the fire was set, though authorities say Tamanaha allegedly had a lighter at the time he was taken into custody. . . .
It’s also not clear why Tamanaha allegedly set the blaze in the first place, but police say the fire didn’t appear to be premeditated or politically motivated. They believe he acted alone.
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said Wednesday that Tamanaha is known to the department and has a series of low-level out-of-state arrests, possibly from cases stemming out of Texas, and drug-related offenses.
“He was issued earlier this year some appearance tickets and didn’t come back to court, which is something we see all too often,” Shea said. “I think it’s one where he’s working alone. It’s all very fresh. It’s probably a little preliminary to say what the motivation was. Was mental illness a factor? We’re looking at all of that.”
Crime is soaring all over the city with violent attacks on subways and random assaults in the street happening far more frequently than in the past two years.
Outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio has been largely blamed for the surge in violence, after softening bail reform to let criminals out of jail early then moving homeless people out of shelters and onto the streets or into hotels during the height of the pandemic.
His term ends on December 31.
Worst mayor ever — worse even than David Dinkins. But it’s not as if New Yorkers are innocent victims — this pro-criminal/anti-cop policy is what they voted for when they elected Bill de Blasio. And of course, 78% of Manhattan residents voted for Biden, so that he could wreck America the way Democrats have already wrecked New York. The city is almost entirely populated by malicious, hateful people, because no decent or honest person would live there. New Yorkers certainly deserve whatever evil fate befalls them, and psychos burning down Christmas trees are the least of their problems. After all, we are talking about people so wicked that they have elected and re-elected Sen. Chuck Schumer.
Let’s not mince words about what we witnessed Monday night. What the New England Patriots inflicted on the Buffalo Bills was not merely a defeat, but soul-destroying humiliation. The Bills were emasculated on prime time TV, as the Patriots ran the ball straight down their throats.
It was a brutal spectacle to behold. Over the weekend, I’d published a column at The American Spectator hyping up the game with the expectation that this key AFC game would be the occasion when New England’s rookie quarterback Mac Jones finally silenced the skeptics and haters who have underestimated him. Sure, I’d seen the forecasts for a blustery night in Buffalo, but I had no idea how bad it would actually be — flurries of snow blowing sideways with gusts up to 45 mph.
The goal posts were waggling in the wind like they were made of cheap plastic, and it was obvious that there would be difficulty attempting to pass the ball in such conditions. But the Greatest NFL Coach of the Century, the man with six Super Bowl rings, had a plan — run the ball, then run it some more, followed by run,run, run, ad infinitum.
In the end, New England ran the ball 46 times for 222 and only threw three passes — the fewest passes in a game by an NFL team in more than 40 years. As someone who loves the running game, and often shouts “run the damn ball” at the TV whenever my team is passing too much for my taste, this was like being force-fed a diet of my favorite food.
“No more, please,” I found myself begging, collateral damage in Belichick’s sadistic plot to psychologically destroy the Bills.
So here’s how it went: New England won the coin toss and chose field position that would put the wind at their backs in the second and fourth quarters. That meant they would be playing into the wind — almost impossible to pass, or even to kick a short field goal — during the first and third quarters. The Patriots took the kick off, then run, run, run, punt — three and out. Buffalo ran twice, then tried a third-down pass that fell incomplete, and punted. Then the Patriots — run, run, run, punt — another three and out, except the wind blew the punt sideways and it only went 15 yards, so that Buffalo took over at the New England 40. This looked like trouble, but the Patriots’ defense backed the Bills up to a third-and-nine before disaster struck: New England’s star outside linebacker Matthew Judon jumped offside, giving Buffalo a first down at the Patriot 29 with seven minutes left in the first quarter.
Buffalo’s threat was short-lived, however, as Bills quarterback Josh Allen’s handoff to running back Matt Breida was fumbled, and recovered for the Patriots by defensive end Lawrence Guy. And guess what New England did then? If you guessed “run, run, run,” you’re correct, but on third-and-five, Damien Harris broke through for a 64-yard touchdown.
Damien Harris is GONE. 64-yard touchdown! #ForeverNE
It was the longest rushing touchdown for the Patriots since 1997, and it seemed to prove something I’ve always felt about the running game. If you keep pounding away — three yards here, five yards there, run, run, run — the defense will start “packing the box” at the line of scrimmage, so that when you finally break through, there’s nobody in the secondary to stop you. Once Harris found an opening, he was gone.
Because the wind made a point-after kick a doubtful proposition, New England went for the two-point conversion, and succeeded with a run by Brandon Bolden, taking an 8-0 lead. On the next Buffalo possession, the Bills got a first down but then stalled — a holding penalty on third down backed them up to fourth-and-17 — before disaster struck again for the Patriots. At no previous time in the season had tight end N’Keal Harry been used to return punts, and no one has yet explained why he was back deep for New England, when he let the ball bounce off his helmet, a fumble that was recovered by Buffalo at the Patriot 14.
N’Keal Harry’s first punt return of the season, and in these conditions, ends up just as you think it would. pic.twitter.com/oimuzRS81G
On the very next play, Bills QB Josh Allen threw a TD, and with the extra point, the score was New England 8, Buffalo 7. The Patriots immediately answered, driving down to the Buffalo 23 where Nick Folk kicked a field goal to make it 11-7. It was during this drive that Mac Jones attempted his first pass of the game, a short flare to tight end Jonnu Smith which, under normal conditions, would have been a “gimme.” But these were not normal conditions, and the wind caused the pass to sail high so that Smith only caught it with a tremendous one-handed effort.
Mac Jones first pass attempt goes to Jonnu Smith ? Amazing concentration what a catch! pic.twitter.com/Da08dapGHv
After that one pass, New England’s next 32 plays were runs. It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that Jones threw the ball again, ultimately finishing 2-for-3 for 19 yards. In the third quarter, Buffalo drove down to the New England 20 before stalling and settling for a field goal that cut the Patriots’ lead down to a single point. But on their next possession, the Patriots ran the ball 14 times, chewing up more than eight minutes on the clock before stalling at the Buffalo 16, where Nick Folks’ second field goal made it Patriots 14, Bills 10, with 13 minutes left to play.
Josh Allen and the Bills weren’t ready to quit, though. They drove all the way down to get first-and-goal at the New England 6, but then Judon sacked Allen on second down, Allen’s third down pass fell incomplete, and Buffalo went for a field goal. Hey, did I mention the wind was a factor in this game? The 33-yarder should have been a chip shot for Buffalo’s Tyler Bass, but a gust blew it wide right, and New England took over with a little more than seven minutes left to play. Three plays later, they punted, and Allen brought the Bills back driving down the field. On third-and-14 at the Patriot 18, Allen aimed for the end zone, but what would have been a touchdown pass was broken up by veteran safety Adrian Phillips. Then on fourth down, Allen’s final attempt at a touchdown pass was batted away by cornerback Myles Bryant.
A hard-fought and memorable game, and one that left Buffalo feeling bitter and embarrassed. There is something about getting pounded in the running game — when you’re stacking up eight, nine, even 10 guys at the line trying to stop it, and you can’t — that is just about the most demoralizing thing in the world. The Patriots imposed their will on the Bills, dominated and humiliated them on national television.
The Patriots were laughing when it was over.
“Hats off to everybody besides Mac (Jones). He didn’t really do nothing besides hand the ball off.” ?
Matt Judon telling it how it is after the Patriots’ offensive performance in Buffalo.
ZING! You know you’re winning when you’re ragging on your quarterback like that. Having won seven in a row to run their record to 9-4, first in the AFC, the Patriots now have an 11-day bye week before their Dec. 18 game at Indianapolis. The Titans, Ravens and Chiefs are all 8-4, but even if all three of them win next weekend, New England would still be the top seed in the AFC by virtue of their 7-1 record against conference opponents. As for Buffalo, well, they’ve got to play Tom Brady and the Buccaneers at Tampa next, and it’s unlikely the Bills will be recovered by then from the psychological damage they suffered Monday.
Buffalo is done, finished, broken, and I doubt anyone now would bet against the Patriots taking the AFC East title.
One section titled “Hex” tells the reader, “Hexing people is an important way to get out anger and frustration.” It becomes increasingly deranged, suggesting that those who say “all lives matter” or commit “microaggressions,” should be targeted. “Write your own hex poem, cursing that person,” it instructs.
When asked her thoughts on the document that instructed K-12 students to use witchcraft on political opponents, Branham [High School] teacher Meredith Allen told The Federalist she hasn’t read the documents her district recommends, so she “can’t comment,” but that she is generally “opposed to the ‘all lives matter’ message.”
