Tuesday when he was approached by two men who shouted at him, struck him in the face and poured an "unknown substance" on him before one of them wrapped a rope around his neck. Smollett is black and openly gay.Īccording to a police statement, the actor was walking near the Chicago River downtown around 2 a.m. Authorities said they are investigating the alleged attack as a hate crime. Police did not release the actor's name but a statement from Fox, which airs "Empire," identified him as Jussie Smollett, 36. 29, 2019, as Jussie Smollett.(Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)ĬHICAGO - A cast member on the hit television show "Empire" alleged he was physically attacked by men in Chicago who shouted racial and homophobic slurs, police said Tuesday. Police wouldn’t release the actor’s name, but a statement from the Fox studio and network on which “Empire” airs identified him Tuesday, Jan. Chicago police have opened a hate crime investigation after a man the department identified as a 36-year-old cast member of the television show “Empire” alleged he was physically attacked by men who shouted racial and homophobic slurs.
The city claims about two dozen detectives and officers investigated the entertainer’s report that he was attacked, resulting in a “substantial number of overtime hours.FILE - In this file photo, Jussie Smollett, a cast member in the TV series "Empire," attends the Fox Networks Group 2018 programming presentation afterparty in New York. The city of Chicago is seeking $130,000 from Smollett to cover the costs of the investigation into his reported beating. The Illinois Prosecutors Bar Association said the dismissal of the charges was “an affront to prosecutors across the state” as well as police, victims of hate crimes and the county as a whole. I stand behind the detectives’ investigation.” “My job as a police officer is to investigate an incident, gather evidence, gather the facts and present them to the state’s attorney,” Johnson said. However, he didn’t directly criticize prosecutors. At the time, Johnson said he learned of the deal prosecutors made with Smollett when the deal was announced by lawyers, adding he didn’t think justice was being served.
It was the attorneys for Smollett who announced charges alleging he lied to police about attack had been dropped. Telephone calls to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office weren’t immediately returned Thursday. The detectives closed the case at that point because an arrest was made and the alleged offender was being prosecuted, according to Guglielmi. The lead investigators in the case met with Assistant State’s Attorney Risa Lanier, who informed detectives “that she felt the case would be settled with Smollett paying the city of Chicago $10,000 in restitution and doing community service.” 28 that they could no longer investigate the crime. In the documents released Thursday, detectives note the Chicago Police Department was informed by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office on Feb. Then Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and police Superintendent Eddie Johnson expressed outrage over the prosecutors’ decision.
Prosecutors dropped charges on March 26 without Smollett admitting guilt. Police contend the black and openly gay actor staged the attack because he was unhappy with his salary and wanted publicity. Smollett was charged with 16 counts alleging he lied to police when reporting he’d been the victim of a racist, anti-gay attack in January.