Harris asked about Smollett case after dining with Al Sharpton in NYC

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) was peppered with questions about the actor Jussie Smollett on Thursday when leaving a meeting with the Rev. Al Sharpton in Harlem, N.Y.

Video captured after the event showed Harris briskly walking to a car while ignoring shouted questions regarding the Smollett case about which she had previously commented.

MOMENTS AGO: Sen. Kamala Harris ignores questions on Jussie Smollett case after dining with Rev. Al Sharpton in NYC https://t.co/KTebfRW6GJ pic.twitter.com/BHA0hgqwZy

— The Hill (@thehill) February 21, 2019

{mosads}Smollett was arrested early Thursday and charged with one count of disorderly conduct in connection with filing a false police report over his claim that he was attacked in a Chicago neighborhood by two men yelling racist and homophobic slurs.

Harris was among the first 2020 Democratic presidential candidates to weigh in on Smollett’s case last month after he claimed to be the victim of a hate crime. Harris called the alleged attack a “modern-day lynching” in late January. President Trump also condemned the incident at the time, saying “it doesn’t get worse.”

On Monday, as questions regarding the credibility of Smollett’s story began to surface in media reports, Harris told reporters that the case needed further investigation.

“I will say this about that case,” she said Monday. “I think that the facts are still unfolding, and I’m very concerned about the initial allegation that he made about what might have happened.”

“And it’s something we should all take seriously whenever anyone alleges that kind of behavior, but there should be an investigation,” Harris added. “And I think that once the investigation has concluded then we can all comment, but I’m not going to comment until I know the outcome of the investigation.”

Thursday’s meeting with Sharpton at the Harlem soul food legend Sylvia’s Restaurant was meant to focus on “criminal justice reform and other critical issues,” Sharpton’s National Action Network told the New York Post.

Harris is vying for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination amid a crowded field of competitors including Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.), among others.