The trial of Paul Rusesabagina, the hotelier made famous by Don Cheadle’s portrayal in the 2004 film Hotel Rwanda, began this week in Kigali. Hollywood made Rusesabagina a hero. Certainly, Rusesabagina did display heroism when he sheltered over a thousand Rwandans from a Hutu mob bent on their murder. But Rusesabagina’s actions a quarter-century ago cannot excuse his subsequent actions.

As Bill Cosby, O.J. Simpson, and Robert Downey, Jr., have learned, Hollywood fame is not a free pass to break the law. The terrorism and murder charges against Rusesabagina are real, and Rusesabagina’s own words are the most damning evidence against him. Ambition and arrogance can be a noxious mix. Defense lawyers, children, and advocates have argued the trial’s illegitimacy on several grounds, each more logically askew than the last. They argue, for example, that Rwandan President Paul Kagame fears Rusesabagina’s political challenge and seeks to delegitimize him as an opponent. Simultaneously, though, both Rusesabagina and his supporters suggest that Rwanda has no jurisdiction to try Rusesabagina because he is a Belgian citizen with residence in the United States.