A grand jury in Cook Country has indicted Empire star Jussie Smollett on 16 felony counts for filing a false police report.
Smollett had only received one felony charge for this last month. He claimed two white men in MAGA hats attacked him, yelling racist slurs.
From ABC 7 Chicago:
The grand jury returned two separate sets of charges. The first set are related to what Smollett told officers about the alleged attack, including that the attackers called him racial and homophobic slurs, struck him with his their hands, put a noose around his neck, and poured some sort of chemical substance on him. The second set of charges are related to the second interview Smollett had with police about the alleged attack later that day.
Smollett faces probation to four years in prison. However, if he strikes a plea deal, he could possibly miss out on jail time.
Smollett’s case began to unwind the minute the news came out. I mean, Chicago is nowhere near being a MAGA country. I beg my parents not to wear their MAGA hats around town.
From CBS Chicago:
Smollett, who is black and openly gay, had told police he was attacked as he was walking home around 2 a.m. on Jan. 29. He claimed two masked men – one of them also wearing a red hat – shouted racist and homophobic slurs as they beat him, put a noose around his neck, and poured a chemical on them.Police said, in reality, Smollett had paid those two men, Ola and Abel Osundairo, $3,500 by check to stage the attack. CBS 2’s Charlie De Mar has reported Smollett also directed the brothers to buy the noose at a hardware store and the hat and masks at a store in Uptown. Johnson said police have the check.Police said the two brothers wore gloves during the staged attack, and did punch Smollett, but the scratches and bruises on Smollett’s face most likely were self-inflicted.Police at the time said the attack was a publicity stunt because the actor was upset about his pay on the show.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY