All charges have been dropped againstEmpireactorJussie Smollettstemming from accusations he staged an alleged early morning hate crime attack against himself on a Chicago sidewalk in January, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office confirms to PEOPLE.
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It was not immediately clear whether Smollett forfeited the $10,000 he put up to post bail or his full $100,000 bond.
Smollett’s attorneys, Tina Glandian and Patricia Brown Holmes, released a statement to PEOPLE saying, “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.”
Jessie Smollett.Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty
Smollett ‘Adamantly’ Maintained Innocence
He was arrested Feb. 20 after an investigation, and indicted on16 counts of disorderly conduct for making false reports.
“To be perfectly honest, from the very beginning we had questions,” Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said at a news conference after Smollett had been charged.
Smollett and his legal team previously said they had planned an “aggressive defense,” according to his attorneys Todd Pugh and Victor Henderson.
“Jussieadamantly maintains his innocenceeven if law enforcement has robbed him of that presumption,” his attorney, Mark Geragos, said in a statement released to PEOPLE after those indictments were announced.
Two brothers who were acquaintances of the actor, Abimbola “Abel” and Olabinjo “Ola” Osundairo, later issued a public apology for their role in the allegedly staged incident, expressing “tremendous regret” for their actions, according to a statement from their attorney.
“My clients have tremendous regret over their involvement in this situation, and they understand how it has impacted people across the nation, particularly minority communities and especially those who have been victims of hate crimes themselves,” the statement read.
Their attorney later said the check they received was meant to cover both the attack and personal training services for Smollett. They also allegedly received $100 from Smollett to buy the ski masks, rope and gloves they were to use in the alleged attack.
The brothers have not been charged.
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Smollett Alleged 2 Men Shouted Racist, Homophobic and ‘Political Statements’
Police reviewed hundreds of hours of video from surveillance cameras in the area, starting with those focused on the street near the reported incident. The alleged attack itself was not captured, but police quickly obtained and shared images of two men “that we believed were the likely offenders,” he said.
The interim allowed police to issue more than 50 search warrants and subpoenas for phone and other records that showed the men had been in contact with Smollett — including one hour before the alleged attack, one hour afterward, and while they were out of the country, said Johnson.
RELATED VIDEO: Jussie Smollett Allegedly Paid $3,500 to Stage Attack Because He Was Unhappy with Salary: Police
Police met and arrested the men upon their return. But after the men requested an attorney, Gloria Schmidt, “she came to us and after speaking with these two people of interest, she said that something smelled fishy,” said Wodnicki. “She came to me and said, ‘You really need to talk to these guys, I’m going to allow them to give you a video interview with us present and we’re going to have you hear their story. They are not offenders, they’re victims.’”
Wodnicki added: “It was at this time that this investigation started to spin in a completely new direction.”
If Smollett had been been tried and found guilty of falsifying a police report, the Class 4 felony carried a potential sentence of up to three years in prison.
After being arrested and quickly posting a bond that allowed his release from jail last month,Smollett returned to the Chicago set ofEmpire, the Fox drama in which he stars as main character Jamal Lyon.
Family: ‘Our Son and Brother Is an Innocent Man’
FOX Entertainment and 20th Century FOX Television, which jointly produceEmpire, also issued a statement saying, “Jussie Smollett has always maintained his innocence and we are gratified that all charges against him have been dismissed.”
source: people.com
