Jussie Smollett is currently in custody. TMZ reports the Empire actor turned himself during the early hours of Thursday (February 20). He will sit in jail until he attends a bond hearing at 1:30 p.m. CT when will either post bond or be released on his own recognizance.
According to Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson, Smollett staged the attack because “he was dissatisfied with his salary.”
“I’m left hanging my head and asking why,” Johnson told reporters. “Why would anyone, especially an African-American man, use the symbolism of a noose to make false accusations? How could someone look at the hatred and suffering associated with that symbol.
“How can an individual who has been embraced by the city of Chicago turn around and slap everyone in this city by making this false claim? Bogus police reports cause real harm.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S42U7zlUZQw
Johnson also added Smollett’s wounds were likely “self-inflicted” and suggested he’d sent the “false letter” to FOX Studios shortly before the incident.
Smollett was charged with felony disorderly conduct on Wednesday (February 20). If convicted, he faces up to three years in prison.
[This article has been updated. The last version was published on February 20, 2019 and can be found below.]
Jussie Smollett has been indicted by a Cook County Grand Jury for filing a false police report. According to TMZ, the Empire actor could face up to three years in prison if convicted.
The indictment was delivered on Wednesday (February 20) after the jurors heard the testimonies and evaluated evidence. The two Nigerian brothers previously arrested for the attack — Ola and Abel Osundairo — told the jurors they staged the assault with Smollett’s help and got paid for it.
The brothers were also caught on camera buying supplies prior to the incident, including ski masks, gloves, bandanas, sunglasses and red hats.
Smollett filed the report on January 29, claiming he’d been attacked by two men yelling “homophobic and racial slurs.”
Police were suspicious of his story almost immediately. They reportedly found it strange Smollett kept the rope used in the attack around his neck for 42 minutes and knew were the surveillance cameras were.
Earlier this week, Smollett’s attorney issued a statement denying all accusations.
[This article has been updated. The last version was published on February 17, 2019 and can be found below.]
Jussie Smollett’s attorney has issued a statement on behalf of his client, adamantly denying reports the Empire actor staged his own attack.
In a statement obtained by TMZ, Smollett’s lawyer reveals his client is “devastated” by the accusation he hired two men to carry out the assault.
“As a victim of a hate crime who has cooperated with the police investigation, Jussie Smollett is angered and devastated by recent reports that the perpetrators are individuals he is familiar with,” the statement read. “He has now been further victimized by claims attributed to these alleged perpetrators that Jussie played a role in his own attack.
“Nothing is further from the truth and anyone claiming otherwise is lying.”
Smollett reported the incident on January 29, which initially appeared to be a possible hate crime. At the time, Smollett claimed two men yelling “racial and homophobic slurs” attacked him outside a Loews Hotel in Chicago.
On Wednesday (February 13), police arrested two Nigerian brothers who were believed to be involved in the attack. They were released without charges on Friday (February 15) and are reportedly fully cooperating with police in light of the “new evidence” authorities have uncovered.
Chicago PD’s Chief Communications Officer confirmed there’s been a change in the case. “The information received from the individuals questioned by police earlier in the Empire case has in fact shifted the trajectory of the investigation.”
Smollett, who recently appeared on Good Morning America to tell his story, maintains he’s a victim in this case. Police have reached out to Smollett’s attorney for a follow-up interview.
[This article has been updated. The original version was published on February 16, 2019 and can be found below.]
In what has evolved into a complicated case full of twists and turns, police are now suggesting Empire actor Jussie Smollett orchestrated his own attack.
According to CNN, two law enforcement sources privy to the details of the investigation say Smollett paid two Nigerian brothers to execute the plan. One of the men had appeared on Empire in the past.
The two brothers were arrested by Chicago authorities on Wednesday (February 13) but were eventually released without charges after detectives discovered the “new evidence.” They are now reportedly fully cooperating with police.
Chicago Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi explained they were set free “due to new evidence as a result of today’s investigations.” He added, “And detectives have additional investigative work to complete.”
Smollett called the police in the early morning hours of January 29, claiming he’d been assaulted by two men hurling “racial and homophobic slurs” near the lower entrance of a Loews Hotel. He said one of his attackers placed a rope around his neck and poured an unknown chemical substance on him while yelling, “This is MAGA country!”
There are records showing the two brothers purchased the rope found around Smollett’s neck at a local hardware store.
Almost immediately, Smollett’s account of what happened raised suspicions, with many questioning the validity of his story.
Following the alleged attack, Smollett appeared on Good Morning America and expressed his frustrations. He was disappointed so many people were doubting his story and accusing him of lying.
“It feels like if I had said it was a Muslim or a Mexican or someone black, I feel like the doubters would have supported me a lot much more,” Smollett said. “And that says a lot about the place where we are as a country right now.”
Smollett also denied ever telling the police his attackers were wearing MAGA hats.
“I never said that,” he said.”I didn’t need to add anything like that. They called me a faggot, they called me a nigger. There’s no which way you cut it. I don’t need some MAGA hat as the cherry on some racist sundae.”
Despite the allegations, Smollett is still considered a victim until it’s proven otherwise. The actor, who identifies as gay, has played “Jamal” on the FOX TV since 2015.
Watch Smollett’s account of the attack below. [apple_news_ad type=”any”]
i swear i didnt. i dont even know these dudes
Shut up and get that dick back in your mouth no one wants to hear ya
This dude just set us back 100 years smmfh
This will not end well for anyone. Shit’s about to get a whole lot worse.
I know Trump is Trump, but I don’t know how you can call yourself a liberal without being embarrassed after all the sh it they pull.
Democrats continue to vote blue because they get free shit, and they are uninformed morons that want to depend on the nanny state for life. They want big government to carry them through life just like living with mommy has. America has been dumbed down and being a victim is now trendy. We have white liberals who hate themselves and go march for BLM even though BLM don’t even want their asses there and make them go to the back of the bus lol! That’s why “liberals” continue to be the party of the jackass. It’s not a coincidence.
“being a victim is now trendy.” – Never a truer word spoken.
He doesn’t represent liberals? Have you seen his social media accounts? Sit down you stupid fk.
Jamal Lyin will love all them prison bois. They’ll make sure he gets his 2 am footlong fo sho.
If he goes to jail for this, they gonna pass his yellowbone ass around so much he’s gonna come out of prison straight.
Lolz
Joe Budden called it. He knew something was fishy!!
Surprise surprise. They should deal with this homo like they did a few hundred years ago
He lol like the type to do some shit like this anyways
What was the Queers underlying Motive for doing the Stage? People ( some) earnestly believed his Story and really wanted Justice Served against the Perps…….. Truth Always Prevails, Always!!
He has an album coming out.
He was about to get written off his tv show. Probably hoped the publicity would either help him to stay on the show or get easily casted for another show. In these days people on the left arent interested in the truth, its all about their narrative. Worked like a charm with the covington highschool kids so why not with him too. You only need to blame trump or maga etc. and all the sudden evidence becomes irrelevant
Right only people on the left lie, and are only interested in their narrative. Both of these ideological cult groups are destroying the republic.
Right. Only people on the left lie and are interested only in their narrative. Left and right, right and left…..both of these ideological cult groups are destroying the republic.
The Taliban Would have threw him off a 10 Story Building Just for Walking around With his Wrist Bent
:/
This dude deserved a 2019 Oscar nomination for this one…
Not really…. no one believed that ish
We ain’t believe it once he kept the noose onnhis neck he played the fear factor race card since he likes real end play prison is goin to be like Disneyland to him.Enjoy..bubba waiting on that anus.
Im here for the Smollett self-attack.
I’m not suprised motherf*ckers.
He thought he was about to start a gay movement in music and become a gay pioneer and become the biggest artist out right now from the outrage of the attack, at least that’s how it would’ve happened on empire
I suspected foul play this was not a smart move to lie about his ordeal of being targeted for being gay and knowing he was going to be supported by lots of friends shame on him for giving glbt a bad rap.
The other gay in the news, Tekashi, won’t get anytime either. Both of these gays belong in jail. I’m tired of the gays getting away with ish just cuz they are fruity.
No black man should get send to jail regardless of innocent or guilty.
They should be put on a leaky boat back to Africa.
You rly believe just because we were oppressed our entire eace should be excused from crime WTF!?? Pardon the phrase but let the animals run wild huh? We should rly stop looking at ppl based on the color and just see ppl as a whole. Yes if you do the crime you should go to jail. Yes this guy filed a false police claim then went on a press tour trying to be a SJW, he deserves jail time and to be written off of his terrible show.
If he was white and claimed to be attacked by two black men, the j-wish owned media would have been silent. This way around, even the zio puppet president was quick to “condemn this attack”
Bet when he comes clean he’ll still find a way to be the victim and make us feel sorry for him.
Jussie is a bitch. I looked at his Instagram and he never lets anyone comment on his posts, which are all about being a SJW and he’s obsessed with Trump. This dude isn’t right in the head. If you look at his rambling interview on GMA he never really makes sense when pressed for details. File this one under “no shit, Sherlock”, this dude was a mess from the start.
Clown show
Sooooo, he beat himself up, tied a noose around his neck, kept the noose on until the police arrived and then proceeded to do national TV interviews on how he was attacked? YO, our generation is foul yo!
#WWAN!
We live in a messed up society and system.So many lives have been ruined of those falsely accused and convicted!Alot of craziness nonsense is going on in the world right now.Thank you.Sincerely,Casey Grimes-Finley,Chicago,Illinois
BREAKING: New Evidence Suggests Jussie Smollett Be Sucking Tekashi69’s Droopy Penis, Probably Lickin His Rainbow Colored Ass Too
Jussie the retard praises Mr. Ed AKA Occasio-Cortez. Of course this dude is a retard. Nobody with a brain thinks the socialist k. U. N t is worth shit. Throw this fudge packer in prison with all the other jotos.
i knew something was weird from the beginning. what racists are watching Empire and would even remember who the fuck this guy is?? thats all i kept thinking. Racists are not watching Empire. Racists do not know who this guy is.
Are you one of the racist that don’t watch it?if not how do you have so much information about what other racists are watching ??? Explain that
I’m aware of plenty of shit I don’t watch. Brokeback mountain is about you and your boy packing duche in a tent somewhere, I’ve never actually seen the movie. See how that works, idiot? It’s a show about a record label and this openly gay dude is one of the stars. I’ve never watched an episode. I also know Terrence Howard is in it, who’s actually a great actor. Still, I guarantee you it’s not my thing. POWER is a dope show. I don’t think dudes in the KKK are watching that one either, moron. It’s a BLACK produced/starred in TV show. You are kind of slow, right?
Where’s that snitch TI now? “Let’s get the white people” what a goddamn idiot. This fruit better be thrown in jail for these false claims..
Ti had no problem with all those white people buying his music and tickets to his shows. Hahahaha. He’s a clown.
The bigger crime is this fuckface had the nerve to anoint himself the “GAY TUPAC”. He actually said this shit at a concert.
All Eyez on him…lolol
No y’all have that down packed gurl??
You idiots believe everything you read
When keeping it bitch goes wrong…
Summed up perfectly!
Yea liars always hate being called out empires over in the coming years and ya know that you suck more balls as a rapper than a gay man just a lityle desperate for the fame to stay? I look forward to this dickheada grilling in the media in the coming weeks cause now that 15 minutes of fames ending sooner only funner parts gonna be watching his owm cast disown him
was he gettin a sandwich at subway or a subway sandwich?
I DONT LIKE THESE BOOTY BANDITS THEY DO BOOTY BANDIT SHIIIIITTTTT
This fkn clown below, SUCKIN ON TRUMPS ORANGE MICRODICK MMM LOVE THAT TANGERINE COCK, thinks Jussie doesn’t represent liberals when he has been seen with Maxine Waters, Kamala Harris and many more at rallies. LMAO. And she has the nerve to call someone else dumb. Fkn degenerate.
Sit down, snowflake. You’re too mentally feeble to think for yourself, which you then incorrectly project onto others. You may learn the error of your ways in time. I certainly hope you do. Please don’t waste your life being a bottom-feeding disgrace.
This is what happens when you let actors write a script. What a clown. It’s falling apart and he’s still denying it. He was disappointed that the letter didn’t get enough attention so he created this ridiculous scenario. Embarrassing, and the worst thing about it is that it fuels the Trump supporters and shit like this is going to get him re-elected.
Lmao my dude got it ALL WRONG! First he shouldve hired 2 white males, second he should’ve made this happen on Valentine’s day while he’s shopping for his bf, and third stick to one type of hate crime, either for being gay or being pro-trump. STOOPID
People lie everyday sun, he be ight
Black and gay people, you owe straight white people an apology.
Smd bitch
-gay black guy that needs to let the anger for his father to and stop behaving like his bitter scorned mother
The most fucked up thing is the cops found these 2 guys. I mean if you never lived in Chicago fucking policing is terrible. I don’t mean racially either I just mean these cops never find anything. But they figured this out really quick. Blows my fucking mind
It didn’t take a fucking Einstein to figure out this son of a bitch was lying. They subpoenaed his phone records and found out he was contacting the two brothers before the fake attack. Then the dumb asses are on video buying the props they used in the attack, there’s a check Jussie made out to them, there’s a list with the props needed too, they ratted this mofo out. Not to mention a building security guard saw Jussie walking into the lobby of his apartment supposedly after the deathly attack, that left him with a scratch on the cheek, and he looked fine. He even still had his sandwich after being brutally beaten. Soooooo yeah, it didn’t take much.
THIS IS RACIST!!! THE POLICE ONLY ARRESTED JUSSIE SMOLLETT BECAUSE THEY ARE WORKING FOR TRUMP AND WE ARE TRAPPED IN MAGA COUNTRY NOW!!!
Chicago isn’t MAGA country ya dumbfuck
I think you and the 8 people who took that post seriously are the dumbfucks.
Welcome to MAGA Country
Yes. A place where police do their jobs. What a nightmare.
Nothing will happen to the gay Tupac. They’ll claim he went crazy because President Trump is a meanie! He lost it once Obongo left the White House. Jussie will go to rehab and disappear for a while. None of these TV f ha g s ever pay the price for their crimes. It’s a two-tiered justice system: one for the commoners and another for the rich and connected.
It’s hilarious that he had to hire two BLACK GUYS. Africans actually. They’re the only people who would pull of a hate crime in 2019. Hahahaha. The irony is killing me. Watch, they’re probably both gay too. Hahahaha. Yeah, the white man and the cops are out to get you. Hahahaha
Lol wut!? White men are responsible for the majority of hate crimes in America. Also hate crimes have been steadily on the rise for the last five years. I don’t think the white man is out to get me or anything, but your statement is silly. PS. F*** Jussie Smollett.
Jussie and the two Nigerian Bros are the new Three Stooges :)~
He’s half-black and je-ish se all know he will get away with this. Remember the j-ws run the justice system as well as anything else and its been weaponized just against white people, who the j-ws hate so much they always push for the genocide of whitey.
I hope they let him go to prison with all his flavoured lubes. They gon tear his yellow ass apart in there.
Yo All Cap that will be a bad move on the government part sending him to prison, hello he will like that he will have to much fun, this is just a case of a TV actor, thinking he is still on the set and can do whatever he want say whatever he want and nothing will happen because he’s is just acting and it not real. just a TV show,
nah even if he’s gay he is not gonna enjoy that fat mandingo dick they gon be squeezing into his crack.
A LOW LIFE D IN THE BOOTY POS KNEEGROW ..UNDERNEATH THE JAIL WITH COOLAID ON HIS LIPS IS WHERE HE BELONGS
When America is so great that the professional victims have to outsource their oppressors to Wakanda.
Three years? Hell yeah, throw the book at this loser. Send a message to all these fuck boys and thots running around with all these bullshit tactics to become famous.
Ahah knew this shit from the start pathetic ass piece of shit hope ya get aids and die
No one gets AIDS anymore, especially people with money.
But he’s gay…. sending him to prison is his dream… that’s not punishment…that a fantasy for this fruit.
Prison is like a carnival cruise for this prick.
Smollet gonna be smollested in jail.
Is it molestation if he enjoys it?
Smollet you may drop the soap.
I’ve come to the conclusion that Liam Neeson paid him to do this to take the heat off him…
Waiting for t.i to spin it so he doesnt look stupif with his usorthem hashtag lmao
This dumb fuck all but assured Trump will be reelected. Thanks you fucktard!!!
FUCK JUSSIE SMOLLETT!!!
Apology not accepted black people
You’re a sick individual. I hope you seek help, or kill yourself, which ever one really.
For every Emett, and Rodney there’s 25 Jussie’s.
False flags everywhere because today everyone wants to be a victim, everybody wants a sob story, it’s pathetic.
You got data in that, or making shit up like Jussie? Don’t let this fraudulent fuck get you fucked up into thinking that this behavior is the norm. More people than you can count have just been discredited by the actions of the minority. He’ll take that to his grave, but don’t get your facts all fucked up.
Wow. I can’t wait to hear Killer Mike, T.I. And Meek Mill chime in on how the black man is trying to use the justice system to oppress and jail the white man. Hahahahaha. Clowns. I hope this guy never works again. I watched 2 episodes of that garbage show, and it was pushing the gay shit WAY too hard. The race baiting too. This is what we’re dealing with now America. This is the kind of shit that got Trump elected. BLM right there. Now the cops are racist, right?
This guy is already purchasing ultra slippery soap. He already started smuggling in tennis balls.
Love the show, Hope they get rid of this fool and stop pushing the gay shit. The gay shits pushed way too hard and turns my stomach.
He just wanted jail time to be fxxx up the azz all day.
Black and gay…God must really hate this man
Bring back firing squads.
Never piss on your blessings, Mr. Smollett. You had your face on TV and Live-performances as a musician. Better management could have worked out a better deal than 60k+ per Episode. Not very smart to plan a fake attack with your nigerian ecstacy dealer.
watch how quick this story goes awau because the gay black guy wasnt beat up by racist white people. not news worthy if it isnt racist.
But it is racist.. Against white people
He is the racist, they hate Trump so much, after Obama fucked everything up, Trump is making America Great Again.haha . This proves you can dumb as shit, an be and actor.