Jussie Smollett has been charged with filing a false police report following his alleged racist and homophobic attack.
The ‘Empire’ actor had claimed he was the victim of a shocking assault in Chicago last month but doubt was cast over the situation when it emerged he knew two men investigated over the alleged attack, brothers Ola and Abel Osundairo, and now a Cook County Grand Jury have charged him with a felony offence that could see him spend up to three years behind bars if found guilty.
However, lawyers acting for the 36-year-old star have vowed to "mount an aggressive defence" against the charge.
Attorneys Todd Pugh and Victor Henderson said in a statement: "Like any other citizen, Mr. Smollett enjoys the presumption of innocence, particularly when there has been an investigation like this one where information, both true and false, has been repeatedly leaked.
"Given these circumstances, we intend to conduct a thorough investigation and to mount and aggressive defense."
According to TMZ, the two brothers who had been investigated told the jury they had been paid to stage the attack at Jussie’s behest.
They were caught on camera buying supplies including ski masks, gloves, bandanas, sunglasses and red hats, and are said to have told police they spent days driving with Jussie to find a location for the incident to take place and even rehearsed their attack.
The actor will appear in court on Thursday (21.02.19).
The star’s lawyers recently claimed he was "angered and devastated" by suggestions he had staged the attack.
They said: "As a victim of a hate crime who has co-operated with the police investigation, Jussie Smollett is angered and devastated by recent reports that the perpetrators are individuals he is familiar with.
"He has now been further victimised 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.
"One of these purported suspects was Jussie’s personal trainer who he hired to ready him physically for a music video.
"It is impossible to believe that this person could have played a role in the crime against Jussie or would falsely claim Jussie’s complicity."
Jussie Smollett charged with filing false police report
