Jussie Smollett, an actor who previously appeared on the TV show Empire, was indicted in Chicago Tuesday in relation to police allegations that he falsely reported experiencing a racist and homophobic attack, media reports say.
Smollett’s indictment, which was confirmed to ABC News by the Cook County Clerk’s Office, was first reported by a Fox News affiliate.
A statement released Tuesday by special prosecutor Dan Webb said that Smollett was indicted by a grand jury on six counts related to four separate false reports to the Chicago Police Department, according to ABC News.
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Smollett, who is Black and gay, alleged the the Jan. 19, 2019 attack involved two masked men who made racist and homophobic insults about him, then later beat him and wrapped a noose around his neck.
He said that one of the attackers told him he was in “MAGA country”, a reference to U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
Chicago prosecutors later insisted the attack was staged and charged him with making a false claim, alleging that the 37-year-old had faked the attack to gain attention in order to advance his career.
Prosecutors mysteriously dropped their case against him in March 2019, angering both police officials and then-Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Smollett would agree to let authorities keep his US$10,000 bail.
Webb, who is a former U.S. attorney, was appointed by a Cook County judge in August to look into why Smollet’s charges were dropped.
According to Webb, the grand jury’s investigation into Smollett’s claims revealed he had “planned and participated in a staged hate-crime attack.”
— with files from Global News’ Katie Scott and The Associated Press
© 2020 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
