The prosecutor who dropped disorderly conduct charges against the actor Jussie Smollett defended the decision, saying her office was uncertain it had enough evidence to gain a conviction and wanted to focus on bigger crime in Chicago, she wrote in an op-ed. Mr. Smollett, who is black and gay, told the authorities that he was attacked in January by two men who yelled homophobic and racial slurs at him, tied a rope around his neck and poured a chemical substance on him. [Read about key questions in the Jussie Smollett case.] Initially there was an outpouring of support for Mr. Smollett but as the story turned, so did public sentiment. Mr. Smollett, who denied the allegations, was charged with 16 counts of disorderly conduct but on Tuesday the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office dropped all of the charges.

Source: New York Times March 30, 2019 19:30 UTC