Jussie Smollett Charged With Felony For Staging Homophobic Attack
Empire star actor Jussie Smollett was on Wednesday, February 20, charged with a felony for allegedly filing a false police report claiming he was the victim of a hate-crime attack in Chicago.
Smollett is charged with felony disorderly conduct for allegedly filing a false report with the Chicago Police Department on Jan. 29 in which he claimed he was assaulted by two masked men who hurled racist and homophobic slurs.
The 36-year-old actor said his attackers poured what he believed was bleach over him and put a noose around his neck.
Smollett is expected in court for a bond hearing on Thursday, February 21 at 1:30 p.m.
Chicago Police Department spokesman, Anthony Guglielmi, said that the investigation into the alleged attack has demanded “considerable” police resources. He said that at one point the department had 12 detectives scouring surveillance videos.
The two Nigerian brothers, Ola and Abel Osundairo, were taken into custody on Feb. 13 and questioned. They were released two days later, on Friday, without charges. Police said the two, who are brothers, were no longer suspects in the case and were cooperating in the probe.
On Saturday, a police source said the probe had shifted into whether the actor had paid the two brothers to stage an assault. Investigators had discovered that the brothers had purchased the rope used in the alleged attack.