Chicago Prosecutor Kimberly Foxx Under Fire After Her Office Dropped All Charges Against Jussie Smollett

The nation was shocked on Tuesday after yet another shocking turn in the case surrounding Empire actor Jussie Smollett. In an unexpected move, the Cook County state’s attorney’s office in Chicago decided to drop the charges against Smollett. The actor was previously charged with 16 felony counts of filing a false police report after being accused of staging his own hate crime to further advance his career. Cook County’s state attorney Kimberly Foxx is now under fire for her role in the prosecution and the surprising decision made by her office on Tuesday, according to NBC News.

While Smollett was originally treated as a victim in this case, the tides later shifted when parts of the story he told the Chicago Police Department didn’t add up. Foxx opted to rescue herself from the messy case back in February, prior to Smollett officially being charged. The job was then handed to her deputy. Her reasoning for backing out was later explained by a representative from her office. They claimed the move “was made to address potential questions of impartiality based upon familiarity with potential witnesses in the case.”

While the local media remains silent about the threat Cook County States Attorney Kimberly Foxx poses to public safety, the national media is catching on… https://t.co/VP67G9Oj3H

— Fraternal Order of Police – Chicago Lodge #7 (@FOP7Chicago) March 24, 2019

A Chicago police union, the Fraternal Order of Police, was shocked and disappointed by the latest decision in the case. In a public statement shared with NBC, they condemned Fox as a prosecutor and claimed that her office has an agenda that works against law enforcement. They are also calling for yet another investigation, this time into the precise role of Foxx in this particular case.

“The FOP is outraged by the decision to drop charges against Smollett, but not surprised. Since Kimberly Foxx has taken office, she has transformed the prosecutor’s office to a political arm of the anti-police movement. We renew our call for a federal investigation of her role in this case and expect the media to conduct a thorough investigation.”

While Foxx didn’t respond herself to the claims against her, her spokeswoman Tandra Simonton refuted the idea that the prosecution office handled the Smollett case any differently than they would that of an average person. She went on to point out that the actor was not exonerated, as other reports have stated. Rather, a compromise was made after Smollett agreed to do community service.

“We did not exonerate Mr. Smollett. The charges were dropped in return for Mr. Smollett’s agreement to do community service and forfeit his $10,000 bond to the City of Chicago.”