Jussie Smollett is facing six new charges in connection with the alleged staged attack from January of last year.
As a refresher, in January of last year, Jussie reported to the police that he was attacked in Chicago. According to police, the actor was punched in the face, had an “unknown chemical substance” poured on him and a rope tied into a noose was wrapped around his neck. It was initially investigated it as a possible hate crime, but things took an unexpected turn after the police had taken the suspects, the Osundario brothers, in custody – and authorities began accusing Jussie of staging the attack on himself for publicity, which is something he has always denied.
The 37-year-old actor was taken into custody in February last year but was released on a $100,000 bond. He was indicted in March on 16 counts of felony disorderly conduct. The charges were later dropped.
In August, Dan K. Webb was assigned as a special prosecutor to investigate the decision to drop the charges. He was also given authority to file new charges as appropriate.
On Tuesday (February 11), special prosecutor Dan said in a statement his office “has now completed all of its investigative steps regarding Jussie Smollett, and has made the decision to further prosecute Mr. Smollett.”
A six-count indictment against him for making false reports to police that he was a victim of a hate crime had been returned by a Cook County, Illinois, grand jury.
“The indictment results from an investigation that began on Aug. 23, 2019, when Cook County Circuit Court Judge Michael Toomin appointed Mr. Webb as a special prosecutor. Judge Toomin directed Mr. Webb to conduct an independent investigation to determine the following: 1) should Jussie Smollett be further prosecuted for the alleged false reports he made to Chicago Police Department officers, and; 2) whether any person or office involved in the Smollett case engaged in wrongdoing, including the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office (‘CCSAO’) or individuals in that office,” the statement continued, per Entertainment Tonight. “Pursuant to the first part of Judge Toomin’s mandate, in connection with whether to further prosecute Jussie Smollett, the grand jury’s investigation revealed that Jussie Smollett planned and participated in a staged hate crime attack, and thereafter made numerous false statements to Chicago Police Department officers on multiple occasions, reporting a heinous hate crime that he, in fact, knew had not occurred. Therefore, Mr. Webb has determined that reasonable grounds exist to further prosecute Mr. Smollett.”
Jussie’s attorney, Tina Glandian, also released a statement questioning the new indictment.
“This indictment raises serious questions about the integrity of the investigation that led to the renewed charges against Mr. Smollett, not the least of which is the use of the same CPD detectives who were part of the original investigation into the attack on Mr. Smollett to conduct the current investigation, despite Mr. Smollett’s pending civil claims against the City of Chicago and CPD officers for malicious prosecution,” the statement reads. “One of the two witnesses who testified before the grand jury is the very same detective Mr. Smollett is currently suing for his role in the initial prosecution of him.”
“After more than five months of investigation, the Office of the Special Prosecutor has not found any evidence of wrongdoing whatsoever related to the dismissal of the charges against Mr. Smollett,” the statement continues. “Rather, the charges were appropriately dismissed the first time because they were not supported by the evidence. The attempt to re-prosecute Mr. Smollett one year later on the eve of the Cook County State’s Attorney election is clearly all about politics not justice.”
The Osundario brothers’ attorney, Gloria Schmidt Rodriguez, issued a statement as well: “The Osundairo brothers are aware of the new charges brought against Jussie Smollett today by the grand jury. As stated before, they are fully committed to the public knowing the truth about what occurred on January 29, 2019. The Osundairo brothers will continue to cooperate with that process and they thank the Special Prosecutor’s office for their tireless work in seeing that justice was administered.”
And Kathy Fieweger, director of public affairs for the City of Chicago Department of Law, tells ET in a statement, “We look forward to reviewing the indictment and, as we have said previously, the City stands by our original complaint seeking to recover costs for Mr. Smollett’s false statements. We again thank the Chicago Police Department detectives for their hard work on this case the original investigation.”
Jussie is due in court on February 24.
