Actor Jussie Smollett has been charged with filing a false police report and disorderly conduct after he claimed he suffered a homophobic and racist assault in Chicago last month.

“Felony criminal charges have been approved by [Cook County State Attorney’s Office] against Jussie Smollett for Disorderly Conduct / Filing a False Police Report,” Chicago Police spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi tweeted on Thursday.

“Detectives will make contact with his legal team to negotiate a reasonable surrender for his arrest.”

Earlier in the day, Guglielmi tweeted that Smollett was “now officially classified as a suspect in a criminal investigation by #ChicagoPolice for filing a false police report (Class 4 felony)” and detectives were presenting evidence before a grand jury.

The openly gay actor, who stars in TV drama Empire, told police two masked men attacked him in Chicago in the early hours of January 29, yelling homophobic and racist slurs and striking him.

Smollett claimed the men doused him in a chemical, thought to be bleach, and wrapped a rope around his neck.

Chicago Police initially said they were investigating the incident as a “possible hate crime” but last week two Nigerian men who were initially deemed suspects – and known to Smollett – were released without charge.

Police said at that time “new evidence” had “shifted” the investigation, and police sources told multiple local media outlets last weekend that police now believed Smollett staged the attack with the two men’s help.

Chicago police say the charge of filing a false police report carries a maximum sentence of up to three years in prison, Reuters reported.

Earlier, Smollett strenously denied the claims he staged the attack in an interview on US television and his lawyers said in a later statement the actor was “angered and devastated” and had been “further victimised” by the allegations.

“He has now been further victimised by claims attributed to these alleged perpetrators that Jussie played a role in his own attack,” the statement read.

“Nothing is further from the truth and anyone claiming otherwise is lying.”

Smollett has played gay character Jamal Lyon on the FOX music industry drama Empire for five seasons, and the actor came out as gay on Ellen DeGeneres’ talk show in 2015. </s> TV actor Jussie Smollett has been indicted by a Cook County grand jury on 16 felony counts of disorderly conduct for filing a false police report that he was assaulted.

The panel returned the charges on Thursday.

The Empire actor was initially charged last month with one count of disorderly conduct for alleging falsely reporting that he had been physically attacked on Jan. 29 by two men who shouted racist and homophobic slurs and wrapped a rope around his neck before fleeing.

The expanded charges focus on the allegedly false statements he made to two Chicago police officers about the incident.

Chicago police say that Smollett staged the attack to advance his career. </s> Jussie Smollett's legal case just took another turn for the worse. On Thursday, a Cook County grand jury indicted him on 16 felony counts after allegedly lying to police about being the victim of a hate crime.

In January 2019, the 36-year-old Empire star was reported to have been targeted in an alleged racist, homophobic assault in Chicago. But a month later, after questioning two men, police classified Smollett a suspect in a criminal investigation and he was later arrested and charged with one felony count of disorderly conduct for filing a false police report. Police had accused him of paying the men to orchestrate an assault on him.

On Thursday, the grand jury indicted Smollett on 16 felony counts of disorderly conduct for filing a false police report. His attorneys had no immediate comment on the indictment when contacted by E! News. His rep said the studio and the FOX network have no comment on Thursday's developments in the case. Smollett, who is out on $100,000 bail, and his lawyers have in recent weeks denied the allegations made against him. </s> — Empire actor Jussie Smollett is now officially classified as a suspect in a criminal investigation for filing a false police report, according to Chicago police.

Detectives were presenting evidence before a Cook County Grand Jury Wednesday evening, police say. </s> Empire star Jussie Smollett’s legal troubles over an alleged false assault just got worse. A grand jury in Chicago on Friday returned 16 federal felony counts of disorderly conduct against the actor, stemming from a “potential hate crime” that he now is said to have falsely reported in late January.

The charges come on top of the state charges Smollett was hit with last month that could see the actor face up to three years in jail. The new federal counts are based on false statements Smollett allegedly made to Chicago PD detectives investigating what seemed to be a racist- and homophobic-based attack on him on January 29.

“Jussie Smollett knew that at the time … there was no reasonable ground for believing that such offenses had been committed,” reads the indictment that came down today.

Each of the new charges carries a potential sentence of up to four years, but realistically, in cases likes this, a plea bargain likely rather than a long-term jail sentence. </s> The latest chapter in the Jussie Smollett attack case took a dramatic turn on March 8 when the ‘Empire’ star was hit with 16 felony counts for allegedly filing a false police report.

Jussie Smollett, 36, has been hit with 16 felony charges for allegedly filing a false police report when he claimed that he was the victim of a homophobic and racist attack in January. A Cook County grand jury returned the indictment on March 7, according to ABC 7 Chicago. The charges have been confirmed by the Cook County State’s Attorney Office. The Empire star had already been charged with one felony count of disorderly conduct on Feb. 20 for filing a false police report.

Jussie drew headlines when he claimed that he was attacked by two strangers in his Chicago neighborhood on Jan. 29. He alleged that the two men physically assaulted him and hurled racial and homophobic slurs at him, as well as flinging a chemical substance in his face and putting a noose around his neck. Within a month, after an investigation, Chicago police arrested Jussie alleging that he paid two brothers – Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo – to beat him up. He was released after posting $100,000 bail.

These indictments are reportedly related to two separate sets of charges, according to ABC 7 Chicago – one set for what Jussie told officers about the alleged hate crime and the other set is related to his second interview with cops. HollywoodLife has reached out to the actor’s lawyers, rep and FOX (which airs Empire) for comment, but we have yet to receive a response. As for how much time Jussie faces, each set of charges could lead to a sentence of four years of probation.

Jussie has repeatedly denied allegations that he orchestrated a fake hate crime. On Feb. 21 his lawyers released a statement saying, “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. Given these circumstances, we intend to conduct a thorough investigation and to mount an aggressive defense.”

However, Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson told a press conference on Feb. 21 that the actor paid the two brothers $3,500 to fake the attack because he was “dissatisfied with his salary.” HollywoodLife will keep you updated as this story develops. </s> TV actor Jussie Smollett has been indicted by a Cook County grand jury on 16 felony counts of disorderly conduct for filing a false police report that he was assaulted.

The panel returned the charges on Thursday.

The Empire actor was initially charged last month with one count of disorderly conduct related to the accusation that he falsely reported that he had been physically attacked on Jan. 29 by two men who shouted racist and homophobic slurs and wrapped a rope around his neck before fleeing.

The expanded charges focus on the allegedly false statements he made to two Chicago police officers about the incident.

"The new set of charges each carry a possible sentence of probation to four years. Smollett already pleaded not guilty to the first disorderly conduct charge. He was taken into custody and posted $100,000 bond to be freed."

Chicago police say that Smollett staged the attack to advance his career. </s> US prosecutors dropped all charges Tuesday against television actor Jussie Smollett, who was accused of fabricating a racist and homophobic hate crime, his attorneys said.

“Today, all criminal charges against Jussie Smollett were dropped and his record has been wiped clean,” Tina Glandian and Patricia Brown Holmes said in a joint statement.

The 36-year-old actor had denied 16 felony counts of allegedly masterminding a false attack on the streets of downtown Chicago to gain publicity and win a bigger paycheck.

“He was a victim who was vilified and made to appear as a perpetrator as a result of false and inappropriate remarks made to the public causing an inappropriate rush to judgement,” the attorneys said.

READ ALSO: Actor Jussie Smollet Charged With Filing False Report Of Assault

Smollett was accused of sending himself a threatening letter and hiring two acquaintances to stage a street attack, complete with homophobic and racial slurs, while invoking Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.

The case invoked widespread sympathy for the actor and outrage over the attack.

But the actor was later written out of the last two episodes of the Fox Network television program “Empire,” amid uproar over the accusations against him.

The producers of the program said they had no comment about the latest developments. </s> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett is facing a class 4 felony charge after police said he filed a false police report. Chicago police said Smollett faked a hate crime attack to promote his career.

Smollet originally told authorities his attackers hurled racist and anti-gay slurs at him and also tied a looped rope around his neck.

Police said his alleged attackers were paid $3,500 by the actor to commit the staged crime.

Chicago police said Smollett’s false report wasted a lot of their resources and time. It could lead to the actor serving jail time.

CBS4 spoke with an Indianapolis attorney about what the law states as it applies to filing a false police report.

Criminal attorney Joseph Delamater said Indiana and Illinois differ slightly as it relates to filing a false police report. He said if somebody of celebrity status were to commit this sort of crime in Indiana, the likelihood of jail time is low.

He said at its core filing a false police report is a pretty low level offense starting at a class b misdemeanor in Indiana; which is punishable from 0 to 180 days in jail.

He said there’s a small subsection of the obstruction of justice statutes that may allow for a prosecutor to charge it as a level 6 felony.

"Typically Indiana's obstruction of justice statutes are focused more on active investigations and active criminal prosecutions. Here, the alleged criminal act occurred before an investigation actually occurred, so that would be subject to a strong defense attorney’s attack," Attorney Joseph Delamater said.

Smollett hasn’t been tried, but Delamater said the actor will only be convicted if the evidence built against him is strong enough.

Smollett could face prison time of one to three years if convicted and be forced to pay for the cost of the police investigation.

A Chicago judge set Smollett’s bond at $100,000. He has since bonded out.
American actor Jussie Smollett is arrested for filing a false police report about an alleged hate crime.