Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez defended Sunday party members accused of rushing to judgment on actor Jussie Smollett’s since-disputed hate-crime claim, saying that “we acted on the facts as we knew at the time.”
Several high-profile Democrats, including presidential candidates Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand and Kamala D. Harris, were quick to express outrage last month when Mr. Smollett, a cast member on the Fox show “Empire,” said he was the victim of a hate crime.
The actor turned himself in to police Thursday after he was charged with felony disorderly conduct for allegedly filing a false police report. Mr. Smollett has proclaimed his innocence.
“We acted on the facts as we knew at the time. And here are the facts that we know today: Hate crimes are on the rise,” Mr. Perez said on “Fox News Sunday.”
Mr. Booker and Ms. Harris both tweeted that the actor, who is black and gay, had been the victim of a “modern-day lynching,” while Mr. Perez tweeted, “Let’s call it what it is: A vicious hate crime” after Mr. Smollett reported that he was attacked.
He said he was beaten Jan. 29 by two men who tied a rope around his neck, sprayed him with bleach, and called him racist and homophobic slurs, shouting, “This is MAGA country,” a reference to President Trump’s Make America Great Again campaign slogan.
Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson said Mr. Smollett staged the attack because he was “dissatisfied with his salary.”
“If the allegations that have come out in recent days are true, it’s unconscionable, because hate crimes the fact of the matter are on the rise,” Mr. Perez said. “When you create a false situation, you are doing an injustice to all the people who’ve been victimized.”
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders last week called it “another sad example of people so quick to want to attack and come after this president.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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