Jurnee Smollett Shows Support for Brother Jussie After 150-Day Jail Sentence: 'Jussie Is Innocent'

Jurnee Smollett is standing by her brother, Jussie Smollett.

Days after the Empire actor, 39, was sentenced to jail time followed by probation for staging his own hate crime and filing a false report with police, Jurnee, 35, shared her support for her older brother in an Instagram post.

Posting an image with "#FreeJussie" written in white font on top of a black background on Saturday, the Birds of Prey star began the caption of her post, writing, "Black Americans are incarcerated in state prisons at nearly five times the rate of White Americans."

"Jussie is innocent," she continued. "And…you don't have to believe in his innocence to believe he should be free."

Jurnee concluded her message by adding two hashtags: "#FreeJussie" and "#StopLockingUpOurPeople."

Jussie was sentenced to 150 days in jail followed by probation on Thursday, a little more than two months after a Chicago jury convicted him on five counts of disorderly conduct.

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Prior to walking into Cook County Judge James Linn's courtroom, the actor and musician was looking at several possible sentences in connection to the Jan. 29, 2019, incident.

At Linn's discretion, Jussie received 30 months of felony probation, with the first 150 days to be spent in jail, PEOPLE previously confirmed. In addition to his sentence, Jussie will pay $120,106 in restitution and receive the maximum fine of $25,000, Linn ordered.

When the sentence was announced, Jussie stood, removed his mask, and angrily maintained his innocence before telling the court, "I am not suicidal, and if anything happens to me when I go [to jail], I didn't do it to myself and you must all remember that."

Jussie, an openly gay Black actor, was originally indicted in March 2019 with 16 counts of disorderly conduct for allegedly filing a false report, claiming that, while on his way home from a Subway sandwich shop in Chicago, two men attacked him late at night.

Those charges were unexpectedly dropped later that same month. The case against him was later revived by a special prosecutor, Dan Webb, and in early 2020, Jussie was once again charged with disorderly conduct.

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Jussie initially claimed that black-clad, masked men spewed racist and homophobic slurs at him. He further claimed the men had put a rope around his neck during the attack.

Authorities said the incident was staged for publicity purposes, and Linn echoed that. "You threw a national pity-party for yourself," he said from the bench to Jussie before announcing his sentence. "You wanted to make yourself more famous, and for a while it worked."

RELATED VIDEO: Empire Star Jussie Smollett Sentenced to 150 Days in County Jail for Staging Hate Crime, Lying to Authorities

Outside the Chicago courthouse on March 10, Jussie's other siblings spoke with reporters about his sentencing and his innocence, per E! News.

"[The judge] shamed my brother, he spoke about his arrogance," brother Jojo Smollett, 44, said. "He doesn't know the struggles my brother is encountering. He doesn't know anything that he's dealing with."

"This should not be a controversial statement because it is the absolute truth," older sister Jazz Smollett, 41, noted. "What should be controversial is the entire miscarriage of justice his whole ordeal has been."

"I pray the peace of God over my brother and all victims of oppression and hate," she added. "I pray that we can do better as a world."

Jussie's younger brother, Jocqui Smollett, 32, meanwhile, said his brother is a "complete victim," explaining, "he was attacked and he is now going to jail for being attacked."