Jussie Smollett will face felony disorderly conduct charges in November when his case goes to trial for the hate crime he staged against himself nearly three years ago.  

Cook County Judge James Linn made the announcement on Tuesday, saying Jury selection for this case will commence on November 29, 2021.  

“So that will be our docketed trial date,” Linn said during the hearing, which was broadcasted over Zoom. 

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The news of the trial was made after a private conference was held in Linn’s chambers between Smollett’s attorneys and special prosecutor Dan Webb’s legal team. Once all of the parties returned to the courtroom, Linn made his intentions clear that they will tie up any “loose ends” during an October 15 hearing date.  

This will also include a non-evidentiary hearing on whether Linn would give permission for an extended in media coverage of the trial.  

The hate crime against Smollett first gained media attention in February of 2019, when Smollett alleged two men wearing MAGA hats attacked him with a rope and yelled racial and homophobic slurs at him after he left a nearby Subway sandwich store.  

The Chicago police were soon able to figure out Smollett had set up the entire event with the help of Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo.  

The Cook County State Attorney Office threw out the initial charges after a couple of weeks despite the scrutiny surrounding the move. However, Webb’s legal team was given the opportunity to look back into the case and were able to charge the actor with a new felony of disorderly conduct charges against early last year.  

The case lagged over the last few months due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the new courtroom process. There was also a separate battle to have defense attorney Nenye Uche removed from the case due to conflict of interest, but Linn has since ruled that Uche can stay on the case.  

If you or someone you know is struggling from trauma triggered by this story, resources are available here.