Jussie Smollett’s attorney, Patricia Brown Holmes, is claiming that the disgraced actor is a victim of a “smear campaign” conducted by the Chicago Police Department.
“We are disappointed the local authorities have continued their campaign against Jussie Smollett after the charges against him have been dropped. The facts are clear. The Assistant State’s Attorney appeared in court and dismissed the charges,” Holmes wrote in a statement Wednesday to Entertainment Tonight.
On Tuesday, all 16 charges of disorderly conduct against Smollett were dropped by prosecutors. The fact that Smollett will face no punishment for allegedly orchestrating his own hate crime infuriated Chicago Police and Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
“It is the Mayor and the Police Chief who owe Jussie — owe him an apology — for dragging an innocent man’s character through the mud,” Smollett’s defense team said, according to CBS Chicago reporter Charlie De Mar. “Jussie has paid enough.”
After the charges were dropped Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson told reporters, “Do I think justice was served? No. What do I think justice is? I think this city is still owed an apology.”
Holmes claims officials have created an on-going “smear campaign” against Smollett in the “court of public opinion.”
President Trump announces FBI, Justice Dept. probe of Jussie Smollett case https://t.co/wmir4iwWgU pic.twitter.com/4woi5VfinD
— WBAL-TV 11 Baltimore (@wbaltv11) March 28, 2019
“The case is closed,” Holmes continued in the statement to Entertainment Tonight. “Mr. Smollett is entitled to the same Constitutional protections as any citizen charged by the government with a crime — including the right to speak freely about his innocence, the right to be viewed as innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, and the right to hold the State to its burden of proving him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.” (RELATED: CNN Panel Bombards Smollett Attorney With Questions)
The statement comes in response to police “releasing one-sided evidence…and continuing their smear campaign against Jussie Smollett,” according to Holmes.
“We will not try this case in the court of public opinion. There is no case to try. The case was dismissed. We should all allow Mr. Smollett to move on with his life as a free citizen,” Holmes said.