When news first broke that Empire star Jussie Smollett had allegedly been attacked in Chicago, both Kamala Harris and Cory Booker wasted no time in condemning the attack publicly, and Harris even proposed a bill (which was co-authored by Booker) to outlaw lynching – Justice for Victims of Lynching Act of 2018 -which unanimously passed on Valentine’s Day.
Harris and Booker both celebrated the passing of the bill:
“This is about speaking the uncomfortable truths and acknowledging it,” Harris said. “It is really important that our laws protect vulnerable people and outline accurately what are crimes against human beings. … These were some of the most violent acts that took place against Americans in our country for generations, so for this to be acknowledged as a crime for which there will be accountability and consequence is something that I’m very excited about.”
“Today is an emotional and historic day,” Booker said after the bill’s passage. “For over a century, members of Congress have attempted to pass some version of a bill that would recognize lynching for what it is: a bias-motivated act of terror. And for more than a century, and more than 200 attempts, this body has failed. Today, we have righted that wrong and taken corrective action that recognizes this stain on our country’s history.”
The bill not is not limited to lynching, however, making “injuring or killing someone because of race, color, religion or national origin by two or more people a federal crime punishable by up to life in prison,” according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Now that more information has come about Jussie Smollett’s role in the alleged attack in Chicago, Harris and Booker both want to hold judgement until the investigation is complete, which seems odd considering they both condemned the attack via Twitter the very same day Smollett claimed to have been attacked by two white male Trump supporters. Where was their restraint then?
Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra), reporter a The Daily Wire tweeted a clip that shows Harris’s awkward response when asked about her quick response to the Smollett story and the new developments in the case:
“Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) on her tweet saying the Jussie Smollett case was an “attempted modern-day lynching”: “Which tweet? What tweet? … [laughs] Um, ah, ah, uh, okay, so I will say this about that case, I think the facts are still unfolding and um, I’m very, um, concerned”
Washington Producer at Cheddar Inc., Megan Pratz (@MeganPratz) tweeted a clip of Booker responding to reporters on Sunday who asked about Smollett’s story -which is continuing to unravel. Booker now says that he will withhold judgment until “all the information actually comes out from on-the-record sources.”
“.@eschor asks @CoryBooker to respond to reports that the Jussie Smollett attack may have been planned by the actor. He called the attack a “modern day lynching” when the news broke.”
It’s also important to note that the letter allegedly mailed to Jussie Smollett on the set of Empire, which was laced with Aspirin, arrived on January 22nd, one week prior to the alleged attack on Smollett, and only one day after Sen. Kamala Harris announced her 2020 bid, on Martin Luther King Jr. day.
According to reports, Smollett was allegedly attacked at 2 a.m. on January 29th, 2019, near his apartment in Chicago.
“.@JussieSmollett is one of the kindest, most gentle human beings I know. I’m praying for his quick recovery. This was an attempted modern day lynching. No one should have to fear for their life because of their sexuality or color of their skin. We must confront this hate.”
” The vicious attack on actor Jussie Smollett was an attempted modern-day lynching. I’m glad he’s safe. To those in Congress who don’t feel the urgency to pass our Anti-Lynching bill designating lynching as a federal hate crime– I urge you to pay attention.”
As the Smollett story continues to fall apart, with more and more evidence of the entire thing being a poorly concocted hoax, even more questions are raised as to why Sen. Harris and Sen. Booker were so invested in this story.
Tariq Nasheed tweeted Saturday what many of us are already thinking…”What if this Jussie Smollett LGBT hoax was orchestrated by other people who had a certain agenda?”
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