Kamala Harris marched in support of illegal immigration alongside Jussie Smollett in 2018, several months before the actor orchestrated a fake hate crime against himself, according to resurfaced video footage obtained by the Daily Mail.
The vice president, who was serving in the U.S. Senate at the time the unearthed footage was taken, can be seen chanting, "Down, down with deportation!" during a parade in Los Angeles, where she was joined by her controversial husband, Doug Emhoff, and equally controversial stepdaughter, Ella Emhoff.
The revelation comes as Harris continues to portray herself as a staunch proponent of border security while refusing to answer questions about the radical policies she espoused as a candidate for president, including her vow to decriminalize illegal immigration. After seizing the Democratic nomination in July, Harris promised to "enforce our laws" with respect to immigration, but no one really believes her.
Meanwhile, Smollett's appearance in the video is sure to raise questions about his relationship with Harris, who could soon be in a position (the White House) to pressure Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker to pardon the disgraced actor. Smollett was convicted of five felony counts of making false police reports in 2019 after he claimed to have been assaulted by a pair of racist and homophobic Donald Trump supporters in Chicago. Despite overwhelming evidence proving that Smollett paid two Nigerian brothers to stage the attack, the convicted felon continues to maintain his innocence.
Harris was one of many Democratic officials who fell for Smollett's hoax. In a social media post that still hasn't been deleted, Harris denounced the "modern day lynching," described the actor as "one of the kindest, gentlest human beings I know," and urged Americans to "confront this hate." Journalists and other liberal activists rushed to blame Trump and his supporters for inciting the fake attack. "What happened to Jussie Smollett is vile and tragic; thankfully, he will recover," Rep. Eric Swalwell (D., Calif.) wrote. "But hate crimes like this are happening more frequently, egged on by careless hate-filled rhetoric."
The decision to hold the Democratic convention in Chicago, where Smollett orchestrated the hoax, stoked rumors that party officials have become increasingly amenable to the idea of pardoning the felon. Chicago power broker Michelle Obama, who delivered one of the most celebrated speeches at the convention, was linked to the behind-the-scenes effort to pressure Cook County state's attorney Kimberly Foxx (D.) to drop charges against Smollett in 2019. (She did, but was forced to refile the charges in response to widespread public outrage.)
Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson (D.), best known for his "defund the police" advocacy, was among those who forcefully denounced Smollett's imaginary attackers. "Our nation will not go backwards in fear and hatred," Johnson wrote in a social media post that hasn't been deleted. "May these hoodlums face the fullest extent of the law. I stand with him in the pursuit of justice!"
Smollett's fate hangs in the balance. In March 2022, he was sentenced to 150 days in county jail and ordered to pay nearly $150,000 in fines and restitution to the city of Chicago. Smollett served just six days of that sentence before being granted release pending the outcome of the appeals process. The Illinois Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal from Smollett's lawyers but has yet to set a hearing date.
Notwithstanding his legal troubles, Smollett's career in Hollywood is on the rebound. He co-wrote, directed, and starred in The Lost Holliday, a soon-to-be-released drama starring Vivica A. Fox. Lee Daniels, the co-creator of Empire, the show Smollett starred in at the time of his "assault," recently cast doubt on Smollett's guilt and suggested he'd be willing to work with the actor again. "I still don't know what to believe. Honestly, I don't know what to believe," Daniels said in an interview. "People say he didn't do it, he did do it. God bless him on his journey."
Before he became a widely reviled criminal, Smollett was best known for playing a minor role in The Mighty Ducks (1992), and for his appearance in Alien: Covenant, the 2017 franchise installment in which his character, Ricks, suffers an iconic death after being impaled through the back of the head by a Xenomorph's inner mouth.
