Jussie Smollett was indicted Tuesday in Chicago by special prosecutor Dan Webb on charges relating to accusations that the actor paid two acquaintances to stage an anti-gay and racist attack on him in January of last year.
“A Cook County grand jury returned a six-count indictment charging Jussie Smollett with making four separate false reports to Chicago Police Department officers related to his false claims that he was the victim of a hate crime,” Webb’s office said.
The former “Empire” actor is scheduled to appear in court February 24, according to a local Fox affiliate.
Smollett, who is a gay African-American, told police last year that two men attacked him as he was walking home around 2a.m. on January 29, 2019, punching him and putting a noose around his neck while shouting, “this is MAGA country,” along with racist and anti-gay slurs.
Chicago police chief Eddie Johnson later announced that Smollett had hired two acquaintances of his, brothers from Nigeria, to stage the attack in order to raise his public profile. The brothers later sued Smollett’s attorneys for defamation, saying the actor, whom they worked with on “Empire” had “directed every aspect of the attack,” including throwing a chemical substance on him.
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