Chicago police have announced that Empire actor, Jussie Smollett, has been charged with filing a false police report.
A police spokesman, Anthony Guglielmi, on Wednesday said via a tweet that felony criminal charges had been approved against the actor.
“Felony criminal charges have been approved by @CookCountySAO against Jussie Smollett for Disorderly Conduct / Filing a False Police Report.
“Detectives will make contact with his legal team to negotiate a reasonable surrender for his arrest,” he wrote.
Felony criminal charges have been approved by @CookCountySAO against Jussie Smollett for Disorderly Conduct / Filing a False Police Report. Detectives will make contact with his legal team to negotiate a reasonable surrender for his arrest. pic.twitter.com/LvBSYE2kVj
— Anthony Guglielmi (@AJGuglielmi) February 21, 2019
Jussie Smollett’s lawyers, Todd Pugh and Victor Henderson said in a statement: “Like any other citizen, Mr Smollett enjoys the presumption of innocence, particularly when there has been an investigation like this one where information, both true and false, has been repeatedly leaked.”
Openly gay Smollett was attacked in Chicago on January 29 as he walked back to his apartment from a Subway sandwich shop.
The actor said two masked individuals spewed racist and homophobic slurs, doused him with an unknown chemical substance.
Reports suggested that two Nigerian brothers, Abimbola ‘Abel’ and Olabinjo ‘Ola’ Osundairo, might have been paid off by Smollett to stage the attack.
The brothers were arrested on February 13, 2019, in connection to the case.
They were picked up at the airport in Chicago after they arrived from Nigeria where they had gone to spend some time with their family.
The brothers have since been released with no charges as the police revealed there is now new evidence.
Smollett has also vehemently denied paying the two brothers $3,500 to attack him.
