The media and Twitter was all a buzz when actor Jussie Smollett was assaulted by two attackers who allegedly mugged him, tossed a liquid substance on him and put a rope around his neck while chanting racial and homophobic slurs, and yelling "MAGA country."
According to ABC7NY, " Smollett, 36, was walking alone in the 300-block of East North Water Street around 2 a.m. when two people he didn't know started yelling racial and homophobic slurs at him, police said. He told Chicago police that the attackers yelled "MAGA country," said Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi."
The alleged incident prompted quick reaction by Congress. Despite the fact that the many cameras in Chicago neither captured the incident, and the fact that Jussie was not gravely injured did not stop the outrage and the narrative of lynching.
In 6/2018, Senator Kamala Harris(D) California Introduced bill S. 3178 "Justice for Victims of Lynching Act of 2018” Making Lynching a federal hate crime. This begs the question, is this a political hoax aimed at creating more division in America. Chicago is the hometown of former President Barack Obama, so the comment "MAGA" country comment that Jussie claimed they said is highly suspicious. Secondly, Chicago isn't known for its safe streets to walk around on especially in the early mornings. But most troubling is the fact that two individuals who happened to have what people are claiming as bleach and rope just happened to come across Jussie is highly suspicious.
Doubling down on her anti lynching bill, Harris tweeted, " Lynching is a dark and despicable part of our nation’s history, yet it is still not a federal hate crime. Passing a federal anti-lynching law must be a priority for this new Congress."
Why is Harris pushing the lynching act with such fervor? The last know incident of Lynching occurred in 1981. The lynching of Michael Donald in Mobile, Alabama in 1981 was one of the last lynchings in the United States. Several Ku Klux Klan (KKK) members beat and killed Michael Donald, a young African-American man, and hung his body from a tree.
Whether or not the assault on Smollett was legitimate or a hoax remains to be proven. However given the outcry from the media and lawmakers in Congress, it could be classified as a very suspicious event to push a legislative agenda.
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