Jussie Smollett’s brother, Jocqui Smollett, said Sunday that the actor is being held in a psychiatric ward of a Chicago jail.
“So Jussie is currently in a psych ward at Cook County jail. What’s very concerning is that there was a note attached to his paperwork today, and put on the front of his jail cell that he is at risk of self-harm,” Jocqui told Jussie’s followers. “I wanna just make it clear to folks that he is in no way shape or form at risk of self-harm, and he wants to let folks know that, that he is very stable, he is very strong, and he is very healthy.”
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“I don’t even know why they have him in a psych ward,” Jocqui continued. “We still have not gotten clear answers there.” (RELATED: Jussie Smollett Believes He Got Jail Time For Conviction Because He’s Black)
Jocqui then asked Jussie’s 4.4 million followers to use a specific hashtag to get his brother out of jail and to tag Cook County Jail in any posts they share. “Even if you don’t believe in [Jussie Smollett’s] innocence, you should believe that he should be freed. He should not be in jail under any circumstances,” he claimed.
Cook County Sheriff’s Office said that the convicted actor was being held in the ward because it’s one of the only areas in the facility to hold high-profile inmates, according to the New York Post. (RELATED: ‘Profoundly Arrogant, Selfish And Narcissistic’: Judge Lays Into Jussie Smollett During Sentencing Hearing)
Smollett was found guilty of staging a hate crime against himself and sentenced to 150 days in jail, 30 months probation, as well as being ordered to pay $120,106 in restitution and a $25,000 fine. Many high-profile democrats and celebrities fell for Smollett’s hate crime hoax, including Vice President Kamala Harris, Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.