The Illinois prosecutor whose office dropped felony charges against actor Jussie Smollett after his staged hate crime won the Democratic primary, helped by a $2 million donation from liberal billionaire George Soros, The Washington Free Beacon reported Wednesday.
Cook County State Attorney Kim Foxx defeated the other contenders in the primary with 50.2% of the vote and will be heavily favored to beat Republican Patrick O'Brien in the November elections in the solidly Democratic county.
In addition to Soros, other liberal donors and groups also backed Foxx, despite the national criticism directed at her for her handling of the Smollett case.
The actor last year claimed a pair of masked men attacked him in Chicago, hurling racist and homophobic slurs at him while declaring the city "MAGA country."
However, a police investigation revealed Smollett hired two men to fake the attack, leading to 16 felony charges against him for disorderly conduct, according to the Free Beacon.
In a controversial move, Foxx's office dropped the charges after she discussed the case with one of Smollet's relatives at the request of Michelle Obama's former chief of staff.
A special prosecutor was later assigned to the case in August, and a grand jury returned a six-count indictment charging the actor with making false police reports last month.
Foxx's opponents in the primary tried to use the affair against her by accusing the state attorney of favoring the politically well-connected in the case.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.