Chicago Police have arrested Empire actor Jussie Smollett on felony charges of disorderly conduct for filing a false police report. TMZ reported that Smollett was booked and taken into custody. The actor will then head to bond court and either post bond, or be released on his own recognizance, reported the outlet.
CNN reported that Smollett allegedly sent a racist letter to himself to gain attention, then paid $3500 for a staged attack. The Chicago Police Department has been working for the past three weeks in attempting to find the suspects that reportedly attacked Smollett, hit him, tied a rope around his neck and poured a liquid on him.
After his arrest, Chicago police superintendent Eddie Johnson held a press conference where it was revealed that through the departments’ investigation, they believe the Empire actor allegedly staged the attack because he was “dissatisfied with his salary.” He also said Smollett’s wounds, which he was hospitalized for the night of the alleged attack, were most likely “self-inflicted.”
“When that didn’t work, Smollett paid $3,500 to stage this attack and drag Chicago’s reputation through the mud in the process,” Johnson said in a press conference after Smollett’s arrest. “And why? The stunt was orchestrated by Smollett because he was dissatisfied with his salary. So he concocted a story about being attacked.”
WATCH: Chicago PD Jussie Smollett Live Stream News Conference https://t.co/xmFR6goIqW
— TMZ (@TMZ) February 21, 2019
The superintendent then noted that false reports not only cause “harm” to those who may have been true victims of racism or homophobia but also, waste valuable resources in the Chicago Police Department that could have been used in other ways to benefit the community.
“Empire” actor Jussie Smollett staged the alleged attack because he was “dissatisfied with his salary,” Chicago police superintendent Eddie Johnson says https://t.co/wUehx4GFlq pic.twitter.com/z0ZXnrTiCo
— CNN (@CNN) February 21, 2019
NBC News reported that the actor and activist, who alleged he was a victim of a hate crime attack on January 29, found his story began to unravel after brothers Ola and Abel Osundairo were brought into custody following the attack and claimed that Smollett paid them to stage the assault.
The actor stood his ground after the alleged hate crime, appearing on Good Morning America in an interview with Robin Roberts where he defended himself and said that he got “threatened all the time” because of his outspoken stance against homophobia, hate crimes, and his feelings of dissatisfaction towards the presidency of Donald Trump.
“I want to believe, with everything that has happened, that there is something called justice.” @JussieSmollett says he doesn’t know how he will heal if his attackers aren’t found. https://t.co/b5efiP0JCG pic.twitter.com/Shtw0qCQOZ
— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 14, 2019
Roberts later revealed on an episode of the ABC morning news show that at the time, she found Smollett’s words “credible” according to The Daily Caller . She explained on air, “When I sat down with Jussie, it was Tuesday night in Chicago, at the time to give his first account — publicly give his first account — of what he said happened. And we have to remember, at that time, on Tuesday, police officers were saying that his account was consistent, it was credible, and that he was being cooperative. This was all before the interview aired on Thursday, and then we found out about the brothers.”
Inquisitr will continue to follow the details of the breaking news story.
