Hoaxster Jussie Smollett will be indicted in Chicago on six new charges. Smollett will be indicted on six-counts including charges him of falsely reporting that he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack in Downtown Chicago.
| Hoaxer Jussie Smollett to be indicted on six new charges |
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Television actor Jussie Smollett will be arraigned Monday on a six-count indictment charging him with falsely reporting that he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack near his Chicago home.
Smollett, 37, was expected to plead not guilty to felony charges of disorderly conduct during his appearance in Cook County Circuit Court a day after Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot declared that he should be should be “held accountable” for falsely reporting a crime.
Formerly a cast member of the popular television show Empire, Smollett — who is black and openly gay — was indicted this month by a special grand jury that accused him of filing false police reports in connection with a January 2019 incident in which he said he was attacked by two white men who looped a noose around his neck and poured bleach on him after taunting him with racial, homophobic remarks.
In a case that divided the nation along lines of race and sexual orientation, police ultimately said incident was a hoax and that Smollett staged the assault to bolster his career, and charged him with 16 counts of disorderly conduct. Those charges were dropped a month later in a controversial move by Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx.
A Chicago judge subsequently accepted a petition to reopen the case and appointed former U.S. Attorney Dan Webb to lead a new inquiry. Following a six-month investigation, Webb announced the new charges.