Actor Jussie Smollett speaks to reporters at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse after prosecutors dropped all charges against him, Tuesday morning, March 26, 2019. | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Jussie Smollett is cross examined for six hours, Man sends scary & threatening letters to LGBTQ organizers, the first Trans mayor Stu Rasmussen passes away – Wednesday, December 8, 2021
01:39 – Jussie Smollett was cross examined and the courtroom got heated
04:10 – A man who threatened to bomb a New York City Pride March was apprehended
05:43 – Stu Rasmussen, the first Trans mayor in the US, has passed away
06:42 – Anna’s Got a Word
Jussie Smollett was cross examined and the courtroom got heated. A man who threatened to bomb a New York City Pride March was apprehended. Stu Rasmussen, the first Trans mayor in the US, has passed away.
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Transcript
Our leading story all week family has been the Jussie Smollett trial. Yesterday, special prosecutor Daniel Webb, had the opportunity to cross examine Smollett and he held nothing back. Mr. Webb was ready to aggressively question Smollett who was visibly unsettled and flustered at times throughout the course of questioning. The areas Mr. Webb focused on were the private Instagram messages between Smollett & Bola Osundairo, the driving around the scene where the attack took place, and Smollett changing his account from a white attacker to a pale-skinned attacker. For the instagram messages, Smollett provided context that he was sharing with all his fans in his IG story that his flight was delayed. He said lots of others messaged him privately about those details as well. Smollett said, “Mr. Webb, with all due respect you don’t understand Instagram.” Mr. Webb replied, “Look at me I’m old. I don’t understand Instagram. Just answer my question.” Well ultimately Smollett did exchange private messages with Bola Osundairo about the flight delay. Bola testified that Smollett was keeping them abreast because they would have to push the attack back. Now, for driving around the scene, Smollett said they were connecting to workout but he decided to cancel once he saw Bola’s brother Ola was in the car. Smollett previously testified that Ola “creeped him out” and he doesn’t like working out in front of others. When pressed by Mr. Webb about why they drove around the neighborhood for 10 to 15 minutes before driving the brothers back home. Smollett replied, “I don’t know. It was three years ago.” Mr. Webb then pointed out that surveillance footage showed Mr. Smollett’s car circling the intersection where the attack occurred three times in the span of a few minutes. This footage supports their claim that Smollett and the brothers did a dry run of the attack. Lastly in regards to Smollett changing his story from his attackers being white to pale-skinned. Mr. Webb asked, “Sir, do you think by claiming this person was white it would bring more credibility for a fake hate crime?” Smollett replied, “You’d have to ask someone who did a fake crime.” Well. Taking the stand against one of the most experienced prosecutors in the state of Illinois was no easy task for Smollett. The defense rested its case and the jury will hear final arguments today. We will continue to follow this story and report back to you family.
Our next story for today is about a 74-year old man from Long Island, New York who was recently arrested after sending threatening letters to LGBTQ people and organizations for years. The Attorney’s Office said that one of the letters “threatened that there would ‘be radio-cont →olled devices placed at numerous strategic places’ at the 2021 New York City Pride March with ‘firepower’ that would ‘make the 2016 Orlando Pulse Nightclub shooting look like a cakewalk.’” You all know 49 people were killed at Pulse that night, right. It is literally the deadliest attack on the LGBTQ community in history. Another letter, sent to an organizer of an East Meadow, New York Pride event this past June, details how close the recipient was to being killed. The letter said, “[W]e were right there you…FREAK!!!” it said. “They couldn’t get a shot off at you, slithering around the back stage area like a snake. Too many cops. Very disappointed. But your time has come. . .. They are out to KILL you….and your boyfriend. You are being watched. No matter how long it takes, you will be taken out…. high-powered bullet…. bomb….knife…. whatever it takes.” I can’t imagine receiving something like this. It’s crazy scary. The Attorney’s office added that when police searched Fehring’s home, they found “two loaded shotguns, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, two stun guns, and a stamped envelope addressed to an LGBTQ+ affiliated attorney containing the remains of a dead bird.” Ya’ll people out here are reckless and that is crazy scary, man.
Our last story for today is about Stu Rasmussen, the first out trangsgender mayor who recently made his transition at 73 years old. Stu was elected mayor of Silverton in western Oregon, a small town of 10,000, in 2008. Stu used both he/him and she/her pronouns. A documentary about her life just finished filming and it will tell the story of all what it was like to be out, trans, and a political leader in 2008. The documentary will focus on an incident in 2008 where the Westboro Baptist church, we all know who they are, went to Silverton to protest against Rasmussen being mayor – and were met by a large crowd of residents, many of them wearing dresses, supporting Rasmussen and demanding that the church leave town. What an amazing moment that must have been. May Stu find rest now. Well done.
Family, as always we have to close with a word of the day. Today’s word from my best friend as he texted this to me this morning, the only solutions are spiritual solutions. We are faced with decisions we have to make every single day. Some decisions are not ones that should be made in haste. When I am at my best, I sit and wait on the divine to give me the word, a sign, a confirmation, a number, an affirmation. Try it sometime. The sit and wait method. The divine has never steered me wrong. Till tomorrow daily, peace.
