A grand jury returned an indictment of six counts accusing actor Jussie Smollett of lying to police in Chicago, announced by a special prosecutor on Tuesday.
Smollett confronts six charges of disorderly conduct, accusing the actor of making four separate false accusations to officers at the Chicago Police Department “linked to his false claims that he was the victim of a hate crime, although he was not the victim of a crime,”.
The charges emerge from Smollett’s claim that, in January 2019, he became the victim of a racist and homophobic assault while he was walking to get subway in order to buy a sandwich near his home in Chicago.
He in an investigation told police that his attackers called him racist and homophobic names, and they tended to be light-skinned.
It was later identified by Police that the men he had said were threatening him they were two Nigerian brothers named Abel and Ola Osundairo. They both recognized Smollett and convinced the police that he was paying them to assault him in a fabricated incident to ostensibly improve his public image and income.
Police and prosecutors have said Smollett, with the help of the Osundairo brothers, planned the attack. One brother was an extra on “Empire,” while the other was a personal trainer for Smollett.
In late February 2019, all charges against Smollett were dismissed in exchange for community work and the revocation of his $10,000 bail payment.
The police in Chicago and the mayor of the city stood up against Smollett in their trial-and accused the courts of “leaving him off Scot-free.”
Mr Webb, the special prosecutor appointed to investigate how the case was handled by local prosecutors in August, said he was going to prosecute Smollett in a statement.
The Empire actor has been charged with “making four separate false reports to officers of the Chicago Police Department relating to his false claims that he was the victim of a hate crime, knowing he was not the victim of a crime,” Said Mr. Webb.
Smollett is scheduled to appear in court on February 24. The city has sued the actor in a civil suit, demanding payment of over $130,000 (£ 100,000) for overtime payments made to officers involved in investigating his claims. A counter suit has been brought by Smollett.