Empire Actor Jussie Smollet Charged with Disorderly Conduct for False Police Report
John F. Trent
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Empire actor Jussie Smollett was charged by Chicago police for disorderly conduct for filing a police report.
CBS Chicago reporter Charlie De Mar indicated police were presenting evidence to a Cook County Grand Jury.
BREAKING From Chicago police—
“Case Update: Jussie Smollett is now officially classified as a suspect in a criminal investigation by #ChicagoPolice for filing a false police report (Class 4 felony). Detectives are currently presenting evidence before a Cook County Grand Jury.”
— Charlie De Mar (@CharlieDeMar) February 20, 2019
And the Grand Jury approved the disorderly conduct charge on Smollett.
BREAKING—
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office has approved a disorderly conduct charge on Jussie Smollett.@cbschicago https://t.co/GT6h2g6Y9a
— Charlie De Mar (@CharlieDeMar) February 21, 2019
He also indicates Smollett’s case will be held in bond court tomorrow at 1:30 pm.
Jussie Smollet’s case is expected to be called in bond court tomorrow 1:30pm. @cbschicago
— Charlie De Mar (@CharlieDeMar) February 21, 2019
CBS Chicago’s legal analyst Irv Miller reports that Smollett could face probation and up to 1.5 years in prisons.
CBS Chicago previously obtained a video of two brothers Abimbola “Abel” Osundairo and Olabinjo “Ola” Osundairo purchasing a red hat and ski masks at a local store the day before the assault.
Media reports indicate the brothers told police that Smollett paid them $3,500 each to stage the attack with another $500 promised after their return to the country. They had taken a trip to Nigeria and had left the country on January 29th.
They allege the attacked had been rehearsed prior to the actual incident. After questioning them, police released them without charges.
CBS Chicago also reports that two of their sources indicate the brothers also noted that Smollett sent a racist letter to the show. After the letter didn’t get a “bigger reaction,” Smollett orchestrated the attack.
According to their lawyer Gloria Schmidt, the brothers are not expected to face charges saying, “they are not guilty of anything.” She would add, “I think the biggest thing for the American people to know is that this story has a lot complications to it.”
Initial media reports indicated that Smollett was being written off Empire, but Fox Television has denied those rumors, “Jussie Smollett continues to be a consummate professional on set and as we have previously stated, he is not being written out of the show.”
Smollett has hired Los Angeles-based attorney Mark Geragos, and that his defense team will be led by Todd Pugh and Victor Henderson.
Smollett’s legal team issued 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. Given these circumstances, we intend to conduct a thorough investigation and to mount an aggressive defense.”
STATEMENT FROM JUSSIE SMOLLETT’S LEGAL TEAM @cbschicago pic.twitter.com/xSPsGLdZPT
— Charlie De Mar (@CharlieDeMar) February 21, 2019
Smollett initially claimed he was attacked by two men who yelled racial slurs at him and shouted that he was in “MAGA country” at around 2 a.m. near the Chicago River. An unknown substance was also poured on him and they wrapped a rope around his neck.
When police initially interviewed Smollett he still had the rope around his neck.
Police would review hundreds of hours of surveillance footage but couldn’t find any footage showing the alleged attack.
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