It’s not a federal offense to mail a hoax threat to yourself.
It’s not a crime to make false reports to the news people.
It is a crime to make a false report to the police. Each jurisdiction has its own laws for that. Smollette made no report to the FBI.
Feds might bring a case to save face, but it’d be a waste of resources.
Upside of all this is the public learns an important lesson. You get the justice you pay for. High and mighty get special treatment. This should not be a shock, it should be common knowledge. When the system operators tell you justice is blind, they are lying, pure and simple.
Hate crime hoax. This was FRAUD. MAIL FRAUD!
I think that the powder kicks it up another level. The intent of the powder is clear. Smollett was not the only one affected by that. And I believe their are federal anti terrorism laws that will kick in. But we will see.
If he had mailed a threatening hoax letter to himself, and never told anyone about it, no harm no foul. But, he used a letter that he sent through the mail as false evidence of a false report of a crime. In other words, he used the U.S. Mail to perpetuate a hoax, and THAT is mail fraud.
“It’s not a federal offense to mail a hoax threat to yourself.”
He mailed it, all with Powder, to his place of work.
The powder elevates it to a terrorism hoax.