THE FREE BEACON:
Sen. Kamala Harris (D., Calif.) froze and awkwardly looked around when pressed Monday on her tweet that the alleged attack on Jussie Smollett was a “modern-day lynching,” before saying she needed to see all the facts.
Smollet, a gay, black actor, claimed he was the victim of a hate crime in January, saying two men beat him up in a Chicago street, poured bleach on him and placed a rope around his neck. He also said they yelled, “This is MAGA country,” a reference to President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan. The story has taken a turn, with police now reportedly investigating whether Smollett orchestrated the attack himself by paying two Nigerian brothers to do it.
Democratic politicians were quick to believe Smollett’s account at the time and tweet out their condemnations, including Harris and other 2020 presidential candidates. She praised the actor as “one of the kindest, most gentle human beings I know” and said “this was an attempted modern day lynching.”
