hate crime Archives - New Hip Hop News

Jussie Smollett To Appeal Staged Hate Crime Conviction In Illinois Supreme Court

March 28, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Back in 2021, California-born actor Jussie Smollett was convicted of five counts of disorderly conduct. He was charged for accusing two men of attacking him in Chicago, which was later found to be a hoax. Now, Smollett will have an opportunity to plead his case before the Illinois Supreme Court in an attempt to get his conviction overturned.

Smollett has previously argued that he shouldn’t face further prosecution after Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx dropped his case. Following his conviction, he was sentenced to 150 days behind bars. He served only six days in jail before being released. He was additionally ordered to pay the city $120K in restitution, a $25K fine, and serve 30 months of probation. The scandal also cost him his role in Empire.

Jussie Smollett Maintains His Innocence

Jussie Smollett To Appeal Staged Hate Crime Conviction Before Illinois Supreme Court — Jussie Smollett attends Atlanta Black Pride Weekend Pure Heat Community Festival at Piedmont Park on September 4, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Prince Williams/Wireimage)

Smollett has maintained his innocence since allegedly staging the hate crime alongside two former Empire extras, Ola and Bola Osundairo. He’s been accused of orchestrating the 2019 hoax in an effort to bolster his career in entertainment. In December of 2023, a panel of three judges voted 2-1 to uphold Smollett’s conviction in an Illinois appeals court. This meant that Smollett would have to serve the remainder of his 150-day sentence or bring his appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court.

Jussie Smollett’s name was most recently thrust back into headlines when Scottie Beam slammed Joe Budden for his controversial takes on the actor. She accused him of giving her a hard time for refusing to call him a “fa**ot” before having “all the info.” What do you think of Jussie Smollett maintaining his innocence? What about the actor being allowed to plead his case before the Illinois Supreme Court? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below, and keep an eye on HNHH for more updates.

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17-Year-Old Charged With A Hate Crime After Stabbing Beyonce Fan To Death

August 5, 2023 by newhiphopnews

At the end of July, professional choreographer and dancer O’Shae Sibley was stabbed to death at a gas station. According to reports, Sibley and his friends were heading back home to Brooklyn, playing Beyonce’s Renaissance in their vehicle, when a group of men demanded that they stop. The stabbing took place following a dispute surrounding Sibley’s dancing at the time. The verbal altercation quickly escalated, and later turned physical. Footage of the incident reveals that the men demanding that Sibley stop dancing had been shouting homophobic and racist remarks at Sibley and his friends.

Eventually, one 17-year-old who has not been named by police stabbed Sibley, “damaging his heart.” Witnesses claim that he then got into a vehicle and drove away. It has now been reported that the 17-year-old responsible for the death of Sibley has been charged second degree murder as a hate crime. He’s additionally been charged with criminal possession of a weapon. Shortly after reports of the Beyonce fan’s death and subsequent statements from his loved ones, people began to deem the attack as homophobic.

O’Shae Sibley’s Murder Deemed A Hate Crime

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Otis Pena, a friend of Sibley’s, spoke on the attack shortly after news broke. “They murdered him because he’s gay, because he stood up for his friends,” he explained. “His name was O’Shae and you all killed him. O’Shae was just a beacon of light that just influenced everybody. We may be gay, but we exist. We’re not going to live in fear. We’re not going to live hiding.”

The tragedy sparked an outpouring of support from other Beyonce fans, as well as Beyonce herself. Earlier this month, Beyonce paid her respects to the fallen member of the Beyhive, posting a tribute to him on her website. “Rest in power O’Shae Sibley,” her statement reads. Though the pain this has caused to Sibley’s loved ones cannot be undone, hopefully his murderer being put to justice can help them find some closure.

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Ahmaud Arbery’s Killer Look To Overturn Hate Crime Conviction

March 14, 2023 by newhiphopnews

In 2020, Ahmaud Arbery was killed in cold blood by three people just for jogging past them. According to Time, these convicted felons are claiming it was not a hate crime. Greg McMichael and his neighbor William “Roddy” Bryan are trying to claim that their murder had nothing to do with them being racist. They just wanted to kill a criminal.

Greg’s son, Travis McMichael was smart enough to admit that it was a hate crime, at least. Instead, his defense was based on a technicality. The streets where the murder happened were technically not public. The reason why he is not arguing against the murder being a hate crime is because of something he did in 2018. He posted a comment on a Facebook video of a black man pranking a white person. His comment threatened to murder the African American.

Ahmaud Arbery Hate Crime Defense

A sign for Ahmaud Arbery sits on the ground outside the Glynn County Courthouse as the jury deliberates in the trial of the killers of Ahmaud Arbery on November 24, 2021 in Brunswick, Georgia. Greg McMichael, his son Travis McMichael, and a neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan were found guilty in the February, 2020 fatal shooting of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

McMichael tried to wiggle out of his hate crime conviction. He said that he started chasing and killing Arbery, not for his skin color, but rather because he trespassed for half a second. Months before the murder, Aubery was caught on camera going into a neighbor’s house that was under construction. He only popped in and out. Aubery did not vandalize anything, nor did he steal anything. He wasn’t even armed. McMichael’s attorney had written an explanation that explains that Arbery’s race was “a fact of no greater import to Gregory McMichael’s calculus than Mr. Arbery’s biological sex, the shorts he was wearing, his hairstyle, or his tattoos.”

Bryan’s defense, at least, had a very slightly larger margin of doubt than McMichael’s. He claims he had not seen the security footage. He only saw a black man running away from his neighbors. So, he just went along with it, assuming that his neighbors had good reason. He also claimed that Aubery never called out for help. Nor, did he show signs of being a victim of an unprovoked attack.

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Jussie Smollett Appeals 150-Day Jail Sentence

March 3, 2023 by newhiphopnews

On March 2022, actor-musician Jussie Smollett was sentenced to 150 days in jail for staging a hate crime against himself in 2019. The case itself began in January that year when Smollett reported to Chicago police he’d been attacked by two men. He alleged they shouted racist and homophobic slurs, poured bleach on him, and put a noose around his neck. As the investigation progressed, however, inconsistencies in Smollett’s story began to emerge. This led police to conclude he had staged the hate attack with the two men.

Now one year following his admission of guilt, Smollett’s legal team has officially filed to appeal his sentence. Smollett’s legal team argues the sentence is too harsh, and that he should have been given probation instead. They also contend there were errors made during the trial, including the exclusion of certain evidence. In addition, they mention admission of testimony from the two brothers who allegedly helped him. The appeal is expected to be a lengthy process, and it is unclear how long it will take for a decision to be made. In the meantime, he will remain free on bail. Jussie served six days out of the sentence last year before he was released.

Jussie Smollett’s Appeals Stems From His 2019 Hate Crime Hoax

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – MARCH 10: Actor Jussie Smollett listens as his grandmother Molly testifies at his sentencing hearing on March 10, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. Jussie Smollett was found guilty late last year of lying to police about a hate crime after he reported to police that two masked men physically attacked him, yelling racist and anti-gay remarks near his Chicago home in 2019. He was sentenced to 150 days in jail, 30 months probation, ordered to pay $120,000 restitution to the city of Chicago and fined $25,000. (Photo by Brian Cassella-Pool/Getty Images)

The former Empire star was formally convicted of the hoax hate crime in December 2021. Jussie was initially charged with 16 felony counts relating to “false report of offense,” but the charges were later dropped. Later, a special prosecutor was appointed to investigate the handling of the case. They indicating Smollett again on six counts, and the jury found him guilty of five disorderly conduct charges. They dimissed the one count of making a false report to police. In the end, Jussie was sentenced to 150 days in jail and ordered to pay $30,000 in restitution to the City of Chicago.

The Smollett case has sparked a great deal of controversy, with some arguing he was unfairly targeted by the justice system. Others believe that he committed a serious crime and should be punished accordingly. Regardless of the appeal outcome, the case is likely to continue to be a debatable topic for some time. As of recent, a docuseries has been announced regarding the hoax, which will take a “deep dive into a scam.”

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Federal Grand Jury Indicts Buffalo Mass Shooting Suspect On Hate Crime Charges

July 15, 2022 by newhiphopnews

A federal grand jury is indicting the alleged supermarket shooter in Buffalo, New York. Payton Gendron will be charged with 14 hate crime violations and 13 firearms offenses connected to the mass shooting at a Tops grocery store in May.

The 19-year-old White man opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle and killed ten Black people while three others were injured. The suspect drove over 200 miles from his home in Conklin to the predominately Black neighborhood, where he live streamed the attack on Twitch.

NBC News reported a manifesto allegedly written by Gendron was posted on Google Docs the night prior to the killings. The document allegedly lays out plans to attack Black people, and promotes conspiracy theory claims that white people are being replaced by minorities in the U.S.

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the indictment and said the Justice Department “recognizes the threat that white supremacist violence poses to the safety of the American people.”

With these charges, Gendron will have a maximum penalty of life in prison or the death penalty if convicted. He has pleaded not guilty to the May 14 shooting and has been held without bail since his arrest.

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Families of The Buffalo “Hate Crime” Mass Shooting Suing For Victims

May 22, 2022 by newhiphopnews

The families of the victims of the Buffalo, New York “Hate Crime” mass shooting are suing. Thirteen people were shot and ten killed when a gunman opened fire at the Tops grocery store in Kingsley, an eastern neighborhood of Buffalo.

The Buffalo Police Commissioner says there is no mistake Saturday’s deadly mass shooting is a “vicious hate crime.”

Authorities say an 18-year-old white suspect identified as Payton Gendron is charged with first-degree murder. Most of the victims in Saturday’s mass shooting were Black.

Buffalo Police made a point to praise the heroism of former Buffalo officer and supermarket security guard Aaron Salter Jr. who died in the attack.

Police say Gendron, a self-avowed white supremacist opened fire at a supermarket in a predominantly Black neighborhood. Buffalo Police Chief Joseph Gramaglia said investigators are looking at the online history of the suspect.

NBC News reports a manifesto allegedly written by Gendron was posted on Google Docs Thursday night. The document allegedly lays out plans to attack Black people, and promotes conspiracy theory claims that white people are being replaced by minorities in the U.S.

Former Buffalo Fire Commissioner Garnell Whitfield, whose mother was killed Saturday, said he’s joining the lawsuit.

Whitfield said it’s time for all the hate to stop. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump said he’s targeting the “websites and cable news outlets” he claims spread hate and radicalized the shooter. The shooter livestreamed the attack on Twitch.

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President Biden Arrives In Buffalo After Saturday’s Mass Killing

May 17, 2022 by newhiphopnews

The President and First Lady Jill Biden are in Buffalo following Saturday’s deadly mass killing at a grocery store. They will pay respects at the TOPS Market memorial before a private meeting with affected families, first responders and community leaders.

The President will deliver remarks around 1PM, Eastern time. Reports say President Biden is going to call the mass killing an act of “domestic terrorism.”

President Biden said the mass shooting that killed ten people in Buffalo was as an act of “white supremacy.” On Sunday while speaking at National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service at the Capitol, he confirmed the Justice Department is investigating it as a “hate crime.”

Most of the victims in Saturday’s mass shooting were Black, and the alleged gunman, identified as Payton Gendron is a white male. Officials say the 18-year-old suspect drove from near the Pennsylvania state line to commit the attack and livestreamed the attack on Twitch.

NBC News reports a manifesto allegedly written by Gendron was posted on Google Docs Thursday night. The document allegedly lays out plans to attack Black people, and promotes conspiracy theory claims that white people are being replaced by minorities in the U.S.

Our thoughts and condolences go out to the community and loved ones of the Buffalo tragedy. Share your comments with us on social media.

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