Jussie Smollett has been found guilty of staging a hate crime attack against himself.
The 39-year-old actor was charged with six felony counts of disorderly conduct for making a false report to Chicago police about an 'attack' in January of 2019.
On Thursday, after over nine hours of deliberation, the jury found Smollett guilty of five out of six counts. He faces up to fifteen years in prison, though a lighter sentence or probation is likely due to his lack of previous convictions, BBC reports.
Former Empire star Smollett told police he was the victim of a hate crime attack in January 2019. The actor - who is Black and gay - claimed he was approached by two men while walking late at night through Chicago.
According to Smollett's report, the men shouted slurs, yelled a Trump slogan, dumped a chemical substance on him, and then tied a noose around his neck.
Police opened an investigation into the attack, but just weeks later in February 2019, they charged Smollett with making a false report and staging the incident.
Jurors heard from Smollett's alleged attackers - brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo - who said the actor had planned everything himself, paying them $3,500 to act it out.
Throughout the trial, Smollett maintained his innocence and denied all allegations of a hoax. He claimed that the cheque produced by the prosecution had been for a meal and workout plan which Abimbola - a friend and extra on Empire who he had been sexually involved with - was providing.
Prosecutor Dan Webb said in a statement after the trial that he was proud of the jury.
"For Mr Smollett to get up in front of [the jury] and lie for hours and hours, that really compounded his misconduct," he added.
Meanwhile, a lawyer for Smollett Nenye Uche said the defense team are "100% confident" that the verdict will be overturned on appeal.
Prosecutors alleged that Smollett staged the attack because he was dissatisfied with his salary on Empire - where he was earning $100,000 per episode - and wanted to raise his public profile. Following the controversy around his involvement, Smollett's character was written out of the show.
Per the New York Post, lead attorney Nenye Uche says Smollett's legal team is "100 percent confident that this case will be won on appeal."