Prosecutors Drop All Charges Against Jussie Smollett
By: Kayla Pasacreta
Cook County Prosecutors have dropped all charges against ‘Empire’ star Jussie Smollett. Smollett will forfeit the $10,000 bail he posted after his arrest.
“After reviewing all of the facts and circumstances of the case, including Mr. Smollett’s volunteer service in the community and agreement to forfeit his bond to the City of Chicago, we believe this outcome is a just disposition and appropriate resolution to this case,”
In January, Smollett told police that two white men in ski masks approached him late Monday evening, yelled out racial and homophobic slurs (“Aren’t you that faggot Empire nigger?”), and then began to attack him with a chemical substance. The police department then began to poke holes in Smollett’s statement, and charged him with 16 criminal charges for lying to the police.
The case took a dramatic turn when police said that Smollett paid 2 Nigerian men $3,500 to orchestrate the attack. News then broke that the check had been written for physical training, not payment for the attack. The FBI also investigated claims that Smollett had written himself a hate letter 6 days before the attack, only to conclude that Smollett did not write the letter.
Smollet’s legal team will make a “huge” announcement today.
