“Empire” actor Jussie Smollett has been charged with felony disorderly conduct for filing a false report after allegedly staging the attack against himself in Chicago, police and the state attorney’s office confirmed to ABC News.
The charge of felony disorderly conduct carries a penalty of one to three years in jail, according to the criminal statute.
“Detectives will make contact with his legal team to negotiate a reasonable surrender for his arrest,” Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said on Twitter.
Smollett will appear for a court hearing in a Cook County courtroom Thursday at 1:30 p.m., officials said.
Smollett’s attorneys have not commented on the charge.
After weeks of investigation into Smollett’s claim of being attacked last month by two men who shouted racist and homophobic slurs while physically beating him and leaving him with a rope tied around his neck, the Chicago Police Department on Wednesday afternoon officially classified Smollett as a suspect in an ongoing criminal investigation for filing a false report.
The announcement, in a tweet from the Chicago Police Department’s verified account, represents another stunning twist in an investigation that has seen more than its share of such developments.
The tweet also announced that detectives are presenting evidence to a grand jury.
Meanwhile, in yet another development in the case, video of what appears to be two brothers — who are cooperating with authorities and have told police that Smollett paid them to buy materials including masks and rope, and stage the attack, according to sources — purchasing the items at an area hardware story has been obtained by Chicago ABC station WLS. News of the video was first reported by CBS Chicago station WBBM.
While Chicago police officials confirmed to ABC News on Wednesday that authorities are maintaining a dialogue with Jussie Smollett’s attorneys, they remain anxious to re-interview the actor himself.
“We are hopeful that we’ll have a chance to ask the questions that we have,” Guglielmi said.
“It doesn’t matter what the investigation shows,” Guglielmi said. “If you have information that’s helpful to law enforcement, it behooves you to contact authorities and share that information. We have been very diplomatic and have been working with him and his attorneys. We got information, and that’s what we want to run by him.”
If Smollett does not come in to speak with police, he said, “We’re going to go with other methods to create a culture of accountability.”
