All Charges Dropped Against ‘Empire’ Actor Jussie Smollett

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The actor Jussie Smollett arriving in court recently. Charges against him were dropped Tuesday.CreditCreditKamil Krzaczynski/Reuters

By Sopan Deb

March 26, 2019

In a stunning move on Tuesday morning, Cook County prosecutors dropped all charges against the “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett, who had been accused of staging an attack in downtown Chicago earlier this year.

“We believe this outcome is a just disposition and appropriate resolution to this case,” a prosecutor said in court in announcing the dismissal of all 16 counts against Mr. Smollett, The Chicago Tribune reported.

In a statement, Anne Kavanagh, a spokeswoman for Mr. Smollett’s lawyers, said: “Today, all criminal charges against Jussie Smollett were dropped and his record has been wiped clean of the filing of this tragic complaint against him. Jussie was attacked by two people he was unable to identify on Jan. 29. He was a victim who was vilified and made to appear as a perpetrator as a result of false and inappropriate remarks made to the public causing an inappropriate rush to judgment.”

The statement went on: “Jussie is relieved to have this situation behind him and is very much looking forward to getting back to focusing on his family, friends and career.”

Mr. Smollett had told police that the attack had been carried out by supporters of President Trump who taunted him with homophobic and racial slurs in the early morning. The assailants, according to Mr. Smollett, tied a rope around his neck and poured a chemical substance on him.

But skepticism surrounding the attack occurred right from the start, even as several A-list celebrities and advocacy groups expressed their support for Mr. Smollett, painting the attack as another example of the increasing number of hate crimes in the era of Mr. Trump’s presidency. But the police, in their investigation, had trouble finding surveillance video of the attack or witnesses.

[Read more about Jussie Smollett here.]

The investigation eventually focused on two brothers, Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo, who knew Mr. Smollett. They initially said they were unaware why they were considered persons of interest in the investigation, but, according to the police, they later told investigators that Mr. Smollett had paid them to stage the attack on him as a way to gain publicity because he was unhappy with his “Empire” salary. Mr. Smollett denied the brothers’ accounts.

Mr. Smollett, who had been indicted on 16 counts of disorderly conduct, was removed from the rest of the current season of “Empire.” It is unclear what Fox, the network which airs “Empire,” will do now; it did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

[A timeline of the Smollett case.]

It is also unclear why Cook County prosecutors dropped the charges. A spokeswoman for the State’s Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and a spokesman for the Chicago Police Department referred questions to the State’s Attorney.

This article will be updated.