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Florida School District Banned Cell Phones and the Results Have Been Wild

A Florida school district that banned student cell phone use this school year is reporting fewer problems and better grades.
Broward County Public Schools banned any phone use, including at lunchtime, according to WTVJ-TV.
“I’ve noticed a lot more creativity with students, I think their attention spans are a little longer, they have excellent conversations in their groups, those conversations are lasting longer, our class discussions are definitely a lot longer and they’re a lot deeper because no one’s really focused on checking their phone,” Dan Katz, who teaches drama and law at Fort Lauderdale High School, said.
School board member Allen Zeman said fights are down 17 percent from the same point a year ago.

The top reason, he said, appears to be the cellphone ban.

According to school administrators, he said, “the lack of cellphones is taking away an ability for people to organize fights and organize big numbers of people to get together and fight during or after school.
“The lack of cellphones leads to fewer fights to fights with fewer people that last fewer minutes and it also reduces cyber bullying which is something that causes fights and then it stops the recording of fights which stops people from doing the right thing and trying to make sure that the fights are ended,” he said.

Zeman said academic achievement has improved throughout the schools because of the policy.
“This year, at the halfway point, our gains are greater than they were, the gains, from last year,” Zeman said.
“I had a teacher write to us and say for the first time in 10 years, for each student in her classroom, she had two eyeballs watching her give a lecture,” he said.

A Broward County Schools news release said that banning cell phone use, even during lunch, led to “[p]rioritizing school as a place for learning that is distraction-free. This can help students stay focused on academics and maintain a learning mindset throughout the school day.”
The release said the ban also eliminates “the opportunity for students to have pictures and videos captured of them by other students without their permission during the school day,” and also minimizes “inappropriate use of social media.”
Although Broward County is ahead of the curve with its ban, the connection between technology and violence is known across the country, according to The New York Times.

“Cellphones and technology are the No. 1 source of soliciting fights, advertising fights, documenting — and almost glorifying — fights by students,” Kelly Stewart, an assistant principal at Juneau-Douglas High School in Juneau, Alaska, said. “It is a huge issue.”
Lt. Alan Bates of the Novato, California, Police Department, told the Times about an incident in May in which several middle school girls made an Instagram video about an attack they were planning on another student.
They assigned girls to act as lookouts and others to guard their backpacks during the attack.

Novato police charged several teens with felony assault for the technology-linked beatdown.
“The aggression begins in technology, continues through the technology in the planning for the fights and comes to a head in physical confrontation,” Bates said.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal. […]

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Suspect Arrested for Stabbing Boy to Death, Was on Street Due to Dems’ No Cash Bail Policy

Waldo Mejia was arrested in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2024, according to New York City police records.
But he was out on the street Friday when 14-year-old Caleb Rijos was stabbed to death in the Bronx while walking to school, according to the New York Post.
Mejia, 29, was arrested for the crime Saturday with NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch noting that there was little to smile about.
“Today, a 14-year old-boy is dead. A family is devastated. A city is in mourning, and the systems that we have in place to deal with repeat offenders and individuals with severe mental health issues continue to fail us,” Tisch said.

After being stabbed twice in the chest, Rijos called his father

“You know, he called his father and told his father that he couldn’t breathe and that he was scared, and his father heard him dying,” Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said.
“It’s unfathomable to think about the level of this tragedy,” he said.

Mejia was arrested by police on a knife charge in 2015, and a gun charge in 2017, before facing burglary and arson charges in 2019 after the lobby of a former girlfriend’s building was set on fire. The 2019 charges were pleaded down to reckless endangerment, and Mejia was handed a conditional discharge
Charges against Mejia did not end there.
In November, he was charged with stabbing a Ring doorbell camera. Tisch said Mejia was released on his own recognizance, noting that crime was not one where Mejia could have been locked up and required to post bail.

US NEWSBronx, New Yorkpic.twitter.com/zXpW0libkMWaldo Mejia, aged 29, Arrested for Stabbing Death of 14-year-old Caleb Rijos
The Bronx man, identified as Waldo Mejia, who is accused of the murder of the 14-year-old, is also suspected of slashing this 38-year-old man.
The…
— TT (@6002_TT) January 12, 2025

“The status quo is just not working for New Yorkers,” Tisch said Saturday.
“We do not have a system that puts the rights and needs of victims first. And my message to New Yorkers is something has to give,” she said.
Tisch said once again New York City faces the “brutal, unprovoked killing of a 14-year-old child by a career criminal or recidivist over and over again, with [a severe] history of mental health interactions with the NYPD.”

“How many times [does] the mayor have to keep talking about this before something changes? I’m hopeful something will change. Let this be a call to action,” Tisch said.
On Sunday Jan. 5, five days before Rijos was killed, a 38-year-old man was stabbed at a subway station — a crime police have linked to Mejia.
“During the course of this homicide investigation, an officer assigned to the Transit Bureau recognized that the suspect in this murder looked very similar to another perpetrator that had committed a stabbing on East 138th Street on the subway stairs,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joe Kenny said, according to WABC-TV.

Tisch said that when Mejia was arrested, he was “wearing the same sneakers and pants he wore during the homicide, and he was in possession of a bloody knife,” according to CBS.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal. […]

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New York Times Facing $250 Million Lawsuit as Disturbing Hollywood Feud Gets Ugly: Report

The New York Times is being sued for $250 million by a Hollywood actor over a story it published last month claiming he was at the center of a smear campaign against an actress who complained about his behavior.
According to Variety, the lawsuit from Justin Baldoni goes back to 2023 when he and actress Blake Lively were making the movie “It Ends with Us.”
The Times report, largely based upon a civil complaint made in California by Lively, painted the actress as a victim of sexual harassment by Baldoni and producer Jamey Heath.
Variety produced a text exchange between Lively and Baldoni in which she said he was welcome to come to her trailer to go over their lines.

The Times reported the incident by saying Baldoni “repeatedly entered her makeup trailer uninvited while she was undressed, including when she was breastfeeding.”

The lawsuit, reproduced by Variety on its website, said the Times used “‘cherry-picked’ and altered communications stripped of necessary context and deliberately spliced to mislead.”
A Times representative pushed back.

“The role of an independent news organization is to follow the facts where they lead. Our story was meticulously and responsibly reported. It was based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails that we quote accurately and at length in the article. To date, Wayfarer Studios,” the representative said.
“Mr. Baldoni, the other subjects of the article and their representatives have not pointed to a single error. We published their full statement in response to the allegations in the article as well. We plan to vigorously defend against the lawsuit,” the representative said.
However, Bryan Freedman, the attorney who filed Baldoni’s lawsuit, said the Times distorted the facts, according to USA Today.

“In this vicious smear campaign fully orchestrated by Blake Lively and her team, the New York Times cowered to the wants and whims of two powerful ‘untouchable’ Hollywood elites, disregarding journalistic practices and ethics once befitting of the revered publication by using doctored and manipulated texts and intentionally omitting texts which dispute their chosen PR narrative,” he said.
“In doing so, they pre-determined the outcome of their story, and aided and abetted their own devastating PR smear campaign designed to revitalize Lively’s self-induced floundering public image and counter the organic groundswell of criticism amongst the online public. The irony is rich,” he said
The Times report focused on how Hollywood uses smear campaigns against those in disfavor, using the spat between Lively and Baldoni as its centerpiece.

“There have long been figures behind the scenes shaping public opinion about celebrities — through gossip columns, tabloids and strategic interviews. The documents show an additional playbook for waging a largely undetectable smear campaign in the digital era,” the Times wrote.
The Times quoted a message from a publicist working with Baldoni to crisis management expert Melissa Nathan that read, “He wants to feel like she can be buried.”
“You know we can bury anyone,” Nathan wrote, with the Times reporting that the messages preceded a social media campaign on behalf of Baldoni and at Lively’s expense.

The civil complaint alleged that these activities were “‘social manipulation’ designed to ‘destroy’ Ms. Lively’s reputation,” USA Today noted.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal. […]

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Update: NJ Residents Near Drone Hot Spots Reporting Strange Tasting, Weird Smelling Water

First the sky over multiple New Jersey towns was a winky-blinky nightmare with mystery drones burrowing into the fears of residents.
And now, multiple towns in central New Jersey are dealing with stinky water.
Social media has connected the dots.
“A mysterious drone sighted over Round Valley Reservoir and the Hunterdon County 911 in Flemington Country! Also flying near the large reservoir in Clinton and surrounding buildings! But now the resident of New Jersey have question about ‘DO WE USE WATER?’” one social media post read.

“What are the drones spraying I saw it near my house in nj now wide 3 counties do not use water alert!!! Is it radiation in water!! Odd smells somerset county, Middlesex, union county!!County!!! What is going on these drones gotta stop now!!!!” another panicked poster wrote.

While acknowledging that residents facing two mysteries at the same time might oftentimes connect them, the U.K. Daily Mail noted that the more prosaic cause of a water main break could be to blame, while also noting that social media posts were not buying an accidental explanation.
“Drones flying over reservoirs spraying stuff. Go figure. My country is run by idiots,” The Mail quoted one social media poster as writing.

“[S]een this coming and warned everyone a couple days ago but everyone laughed at me. Guess that’s what happens when Drones are seen spraying everywhere including water reservoirs,” another poster cited by the Mail wrote.
New Jersey American Water posted an “urgent alert” as it investigated what the problems were in the Raritan System.
Residents have said the water had a metallic taste and smelled like paint thinner.

“We immediately began to investigate, taking samples from the source water, at different points in the treatment system of the two water treatment plants that serve this region, and at sites throughout the distribution system,” American Water said in a statement, according to NorthJersey.com.
“While preliminary sampling results show water meets primary standards, we are continuing to sample throughout our system to monitor water quality,” the statement added.
On Thursday, New Jersey American Water said there is nothing wrong.

“We are working with the NJ Department of Environmental Protection to determine if any other course of action or precautionary measures are necessary. We will continue to perform targeted flushing and sampling throughout the system tonight,” it said in a statement, according to CBS.
As for the drone mystery, the Federal Aviation Administration has banned drones from the airspace in multiple communities, but there has been no official explanation for the drone sightings that began last month in New Jersey.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal. […]

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Rand Paul Calls Speaker Mike Johnson a ‘Weak Man’ After Spending Deal Is Revealed: ‘A Sad Day for America’

A budget deal agreed upon by congressional leaders is being attacked by conservatives as too much waste being approved in too little time.
On Tuesday, a deal was cut to pass what’s known as a continuing resolution to keep the government funded through March 14, according to CBS.
In theory, Congress is supposed to pass a federal budget by Oct. 1, but in practice, it uses a series of stopgap bills to operate the government while Congress hashes out a final budget. The current stopgap bill expires Friday.
Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky was among those saying the agreement is a disaster for fiscal restraint.

“I had hoped to see @SpeakerJohnson grow a spine, but this bill full of pork shows he is a weak, weak man,” Paul posted on X.

I had hoped to see @SpeakerJohnson grow a spine, but this bill full of pork shows he is a weak, weak man.
The debt will continue to grow. Ultimately the dollar will fail. Democrats are clueless and Big Gov Republicans are complicit.
A sad day for America.
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) December 18, 2024

“The debt will continue to grow. Ultimately the dollar will fail. Democrats are clueless and Big Gov Republicans are complicit. A sad day for America,” he wrote.
Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah noted that many who support President-elect Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency failed to translate that public support into action when they should have done so.

“Many of the loudest, self-proclaimed ‘@DOGE Heroes’ in Congress will vote for the CR — even though it flies in the face of everything @DOGE is trying to fix & perpetuates the very problems Republicans railed against while campaigning this year,” he posted on X.

Many of the loudest, self-proclaimed “@DOGE Heroes” in Congress will vote for the CR—even though it flies in the face of everything @DOGE is trying to fix & perpetuates the very problems Republicans railed against while campaigning this year
Then they’ll say “@DOGE will fix it!” https://t.co/JRWDvsbRd8
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) December 18, 2024
“Then they’ll say ‘@DOGE will fix it!’” he posted.
Lee’s post contained a comment from Daniel Horowitz of The Blaze mocking critics of big spending who just spent even bigger.

“’We’re going to cut spending like there is no tomorrow, DOGE DOGE DOGE everything DOGE,’” Horotiz mocked big spenders as saying.
“Then at the very first leverage point following the big election win, they actually INCREASE spending from the record inflationary baseline,” he wrote in a post on X.
Paul said he might not be on board with the timetable to zip through procedural steps and pass the budget by Friday, according to The Hill.

“I can’t anticipate giving any time of consent to condense time without debate and debate means amendments,” Paul said, targeting subsidies for green energy companies.
“I think they should be forced to decide: Do you want to help the people in Asheville or do you want to help green-energy companies, multimillion-dollar companies with subsidies for green energy? There’s about $4 billion out there in that,” he said, referring to the North Carolina region hit hard by storms this fall.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said he wants the bill to go through the regular process, which would mean a pit stop at the Rules Committee, where critics could slow the bill’s progress, CBS reported.

Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas said the bill’s fast track “is not the process that we signed up for.”
“We get this negotiated crap, and we’re forced to eat this crap sandwich,” Roy said. “Why? Because freaking Christmas is right around the corner. It’s the same dang thing every year — legislate by crisis, legislate by calendar, not legislate because it’s the right thing to do.”

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal. […]

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Officials Issue Warning After Oddly Colored Snow Falls on Town: ‘Avoid Ingesting or Direct Skin Contact’

The picturesque sight of snow blanketing a Maine town became something far less attractive.
On Tuesday, residents of Rumford found that instead of fluffy white stuff covering yards and fields, they looked upon brown snow, according to WJW-TV
The town posted an explanation on Facebook, saying the local paper mill was to blame.
“The Town has confirmed that due to a malfunction at the Mill there was a release of spent black liquor which resulted in precipitation of brown or tan colored snow. This is mostly in the areas of Town nearest to the Mill,” it posted.

The post said the snow should be left alone.

“The pH of this substance is 10 which is alkali and therefore a skin irritant. Although it is non-toxic it should not be touched or otherwise put in contact with skin,” the post said.
“We have been in contact with the Mill and they have already rectified the issue and have informed their regulators. In the meantime we are also notifying the school district to let kids know not to play with ‘brown snow,’” the post said.

“It is likely advisable to keep your pets away from this snow. We are hopeful the rain tomorrow will wash most of the substance away and flush it off the ground and people’s homes or property,” the post said.
The post said that Maine Department of Environmental Protection tests showed the pH of the snow was around 8, compared to water, which has a pH of 7.

TOXIC SNOW ⚠️Rumford, Maine, Sees Brown Snowfall Due to Paper Mill Malfunction
As snow blanketed Rumford, Maine, residents noticed an unusual sight—brown snow falling from the sky. The discoloration was caused by a malfunction at a local paper mill, which released spent black… pic.twitter.com/3ab35ZqI5N
— Kristy Tallman (@KristyTallman) December 12, 2024

Based on state guidance, the post explained that “we are confident that the public safety concerns are minimal at this time.”

“In the meantime out of an abundance of caution please avoid ingesting or direct skin contact with the brown snow,” the post said.

Drones in New Jersey now we have brown snow in Maine. That local officials are warning people to stay away from what is going on? pic.twitter.com/lkujPzX3gk
— Shawn Hendrix (@TheShawnHendrix) December 11, 2024

ND Paper issued a statement taking responsibility for the incident.
It said an operational issue led to the problem that allowed the byproduct to escape, according to WMTW-TV.

“The cause of the operational issues are being, and will continue to be investigated,” the statement said.
The company said it is cooperating with state officials as they investigate the incident.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal. […]

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Biden Administration Boasts About Making the First-Ever Climate Change-Related Arrest

At a time when the Biden administration is being roundly condemned for the flow of illegal immigrants and other forms of smuggling across the border, the Environmental Protection Agency is trumpeting its action in making one arrest.
In its annual report, the EPA said that its enforcement efforts over the 2024 fiscal year included the first-ever criminal charges for a crime related to climate change, according to ABC.
Michael Hart, 58, of San Diego was convicted in September of illegally bringing forbidden greenhouse gases into the United States, according to a Department of Justice news release, which said the man was accused of smuggling “potent greenhouse gases.”
According to court documents, from about June to December 2022, Hart sold hydrofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons online.

“Once the orders were placed, Hart purchased the refrigerants in Mexico with the help of his conspirators and illegally imported them into the United States concealed in his vehicle,” the release said.

“Thereafter, Hart illegally sold the refrigerants to others in the United States, profiting from the black market for such refrigerants in the United States,” the release said.
The release said the maximum penalty for smuggling banned gases into the U.S. is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Hart was arrested in March.
According to Fox News, the EPA reported levying  $1.7 billion in administrative and judicial penalties, the highest level since 2017.
The agency said that 1,851 civil cases were concluded and 121 criminal defendants charged.

The EPA said that its efforts have been designed to put teeth in the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, which requires an 85 percent reduction in hydrofluorocarbons by 2036.
The EPA said of Hart’s arrest,  “it will not be the last.”
“In Fiscal Year 2024, EPA’s enforcement and compliance assurance program produced its strongest results since 2017, focusing on efforts to combat climate change and tackling some of the nation’s most significant environmental threats to our shared air, water and land,” a statement by David M. Uhlmann, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said.

The EPA said the arrest was part of its “revitalized enforcement and compliance efforts,” according to ABC.
“The progress made under the Biden-Harris Administration has sent a clear signal that polluters will be held accountable and that protecting communities from harm is a top priority,” he said.

How do you know the EPA needs to be reined in?
Joe Biden’s EPA made its first “climate change” arrest.
Cc: @leezeldin pic.twitter.com/ypuoQJjQOs
— Daniel Turner (@DanielTurnerPTF) December 11, 2024

President-elect Donald Trump has named former Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York as his choice to lead the EPA.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal. […]

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Golf Superstar Phil Mickelson Takes Fearless Stand for Daniel Penny, Dares Cancel Mob to Come for Him

As the jury in the Daniel Penny trial takes a break for the weekend, golf legend Phil Mickelson spoke up for Penny in the court of public opinion.
Penny faces a charge of criminally negligent homicide in the death of Jordan Neely, a mentally troubled man whose threatening behavior on board a New York City subway in May 2023 led to a confrontation with Penny that ended with Neely dead.
On Friday, Judge Maxwell Wiley dismissed a manslaughter charge against Penny after the jury said it was deadlocked on the charge.
The case has triggered controversy over whether Penny, a former Marine who is white, was justified in putting Neely, who is black, in a chokehold before Neely touched anyone.

“Agree. Thank you Daniel for serving your country and for protecting the many passengers whose lives were threatened by this violent and deranged individual,” he wrote in a post on X.

Mickelson was responding to a post from commentator Colin Rugg.

Agree. Thank you Daniel for serving your country and for protecting the many passengers whose lives were threatened by this violent and deranged individual. https://t.co/tUI5pe7pFV
— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) December 6, 2024

“Daniel Penny is a model citizen who should be praised by the city of New York. He is a breed of young men who are becoming less and less common. He puts his own safety at risk to help others. He didn’t cower or pull out his phone to film when Jordan Neely started threatening to k*ll people. Instead, he took it upon himself to protect subway passengers,” Rugg wrote.

“He was praised by the passengers on the train but was ridiculed by the city of New York. He is the citizen that every mayor of every city should want more of. He is the person you hope is around if your loved ones’ lives are being threatened,” Rugg wrote.
“Anyone who is quiet about this injustice lacks moral clarity and should take a long look in the mirror. Daniel Penny is a hero,” he posted.
The dismissal of the manslaughter charge, which came after the jury spent three days deliberating on the charge, triggered outrage from Hank Newsome, founder of Black Lives Matter Greater NY, according to the Daily Mail.

“They picked a white supremacist jury specialist to target the racists in that jury,” he said, adding “The prosecution pointed out the fact that the defense was eliminating people based on race.”
“Logically, if you pick a white supremacist jury specialist and you pack a jury with white people obviously you think race has a specific role in this case and obviously you are looking for that one white supremacist hold out. That one holdout,” he said.

Hawk Newsome is right about racism in America! Bragg is racist and if Daniel Penny had been black, he would never have been arrested. Black guy stabs black guy on subway around the same time. ZERO charges! Penny restrained him for everyone on that train’s safety – black or white!
— Cathyanne Martin (@MartinCathyanne) December 7, 2024

“Racism has its tentacles all over this case and all over the minds of white America,” he said.

Newsome said anyone  who thinks Penny is not guilty has ‘racism in their heart.”
He added that with the dismissal of the charge, “the KKK got another victory”

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal. […]

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The Fate of TikTok Has Been Decided as Court of Appeals Makes Big Decision

A federal law that would ban the app TikTok if its Chinese parent company remains in control of it has passed a legal challenge.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said it would not review a plea from TikTok and ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of the app, according to CBS.
The law takes effect Jan. 19. President Joe Biden can delay the ban for 90 days if a sale is in progress at that time.
The potential TikTok ban came about as legislators of both parties said that its 170 million American users could be spied upon by China.

Concerns have also been expressed that TikTok could use the platform to influence opinions by banning or emphasizing certain content as China might wish.

The decision sets up an appeal to the Supreme Court, which given the short time before the ban takes hold could either pause the law while it considers an appeal or allow the law to take effect.
“We conclude the portions of the Act the petitioners have standing to challenge, that is the provisions concerning TikTok and its related entities, survive constitutional scrutiny,” Senior Judge Douglas Ginsburg wrote in the ruling.

 “The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States,” the ruling said.
“Here the Government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary’s ability to gather data on people in the United States,” it said.
The ruling said banning TikTok could have vast implications, but that is not the government’s fault.

“Consequently, TikTok’s millions of users will need to find alternative media of communication,” the ruling said.
 “That burden is attributable to the [People’s Republic of China’s] hybrid commercial threat to U.S. national security, not to the U.S. Government, which engaged with TikTok through a multi-year process in an effort to find an alternative solution.”
The ruling said the national security grounds used for the ban are valid.

“The multi-year efforts of both political branches to investigate the national security risks posed by the TikTok platform, and to consider potential remedies proposed by TikTok, weigh heavily in favor of the Act,” the ruling said.
 “The government has offered persuasive evidence demonstrating that the act is narrowly tailored to protect national security,” the ruling said.
ByteDance and TikTok said that it would not sell its algorithm used to recommend content to anyone else.

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to intervene to halt the ban, The Washington Post wrote, citing sources it did not name. Trump takes office a day after the ban takes effect.
Alan Rozenshtein, a former national security adviser to the Justice Department, said Trump could have Congress repeal the law, simply choose not to have the Justice Department enforce it, or certify that ByteDance met the law’s terms.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal. […]

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Nigerian Brothers Who Helped Jussie Smollett Stage Hoax Call Out the Star in a Big Way

Justice was not served when the Illinois Supreme Court tossed out actor Jussie Smollett’s conviction for staging a 2019 hoax, according to the two Nigerian brothers who helped him stage it.
Smollett became the focus of national attention in 2019 after he claimed he was set upon by attackers who pelted him with racist, homophobic slurs.
The story eventually fell apart.
After Smollett was hit with 16 charges related to his false claims, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx dismissed them in exchange for a $10,000 fine and community service, as noted by ABC News.

A new prosecutor then entered the picture. Smollett was convicted in 2021 on five charges released to the incident, but the conviction was overturned by the Illinois Supreme Court, citing Foxx’s deal.

Abimbola ‘Bola’ and Olabinjo ‘Ola’ Osundairo, the two brothers, said the deal was a sour end to a sad episode, according to Fox News.
“We were taken back initially, not because of the Supreme Court’s decision, but because Jussie never admitted guilt,” Abimbola Osundairo said.

“We understand that he has due process rights and double jeopardy should not be and is not allowed in America. However, Jussie should have admitted guilt.”
“The real injustice here was the sweetheart deal that [Smollett] was given by Kim Foxx’s office at the beginning of all of this,” Olabinjo Osundairo said.
Abimbola Osundairo said Foxx cut a deal because Smollett was a star of “Empire” at the time and used his fame to get out of paying for his actions.

“Jussie got that deal because he has influence and power,” Abimbola Osundairo said. “So it shows that there are two different citizens in America. One with power and one without. And that’s why he got that sweetheart deal.”
Foxx said the court did the right thing, according to CBS News.
“I find it unfortunate that five years and millions of dollars later, we’re back to where we were back in March of 2019,” she said.

Foxx said her actions in dismissing the charges were just routine.
“Mr. Smollett’s guilt, in the minds of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office, was not an issue we believed that we could meet our burden,” Foxx said. “We offered him a disposition that we would offer anybody with the same offense.”
Dan Webb, the special prosecutor who secured the conviction, was outraged at the decision.

“Make no mistake—today’s ruling has nothing to do with Mr. Smollett’s innocence,” he said.
“The Illinois Supreme Court did not find any error with the overwhelming evidence presented at trial that Mr. Smollett orchestrated a fake hate crime and reported it to the Chicago Police Department as a real hate crime, or the jury’s unanimous verdict that Mr. Smollett was guilty of five counts of felony disorderly conduct.”

“In fact, Mr. Smollett did not even challenge the sufficiency of the evidence against him in his appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court,” Webb said.

The ruling stressed that Smollett should never have been charged after Foxx’s deal took place.
“We hold that a second prosecution under these circumstances is a due process violation, and we therefore reverse defendant’s conviction,” the ruling said, according to a copy of the ruling posted by the New York Post.
“Because the charges were dismissed in exchange for defendant’s community service and forfeiture of his bail bond and because defendant fully performed his end of the agreement, the State is bound by the agreement,” the ruling said.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal. […]