A Cook County grand jury this week indicted former Empire star Jussie Smollett on six counts of disorderly conduct related to “four separate false reports to Chicago Police Department officers related to his false claims that he was the victim of a hate crime, knowing that he was not the victim of a crime,” Special …
On Tuesday, a federal judge in Illinois dismissed a request from former “Empire” star Jussie Smollett to dismiss the $130,000 lawsuit the city of Chicago filed against him for the money they spent investigating the actor’s alleged hoax hate crime. WTTW reported that U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Kendall said the lawsuit will be “going …
On Wednesday, an Illinois judge shut down efforts by Jussie Smollett’s attorneys to reconsider his bid to have a special prosecutor investigate how the actor’s high-profile hate crime case was handled. Though he hasn’t yet appointed a special prosecutor, Cook County Judge Michael Toomin dismissed Smollett’s attorneys’ claims that their client has a reasonable concern …
“Empire” actor Jussie Smollett searched his name 57 times in the days following the alleged hate crime hoax, according to documents released by authorities this week. WBBM reported that the Google searches were conducted on Smollett’s personal computer, which Chicago police inspected shortly after the January 29 incident. The openly gay, black actor reportedly claimed …
Illinois authorities released 70 hours of video in connection with the Jussie Smollett case, including footage reportedly showing two brothers implicated in the crime, taking a cab to where the January 29 attack occurred. The Chicago Police Police Department released additional video and documents related to the case on Monday night. The release of the …
Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx has been subpoenaed after a lawyer filed a petition for a special prosecutor who will investigate her office’s controversial handling of the Jussie Smollett case. The lawyer, retired appellate judge Sheila O’Brien, also subpoenaed Foxx’s leading assistant, Joseph Magats, and filed an additional document requesting Smollett appear for the …
The two brothers implicated in the alleged staged attack involving Jussie Smollett filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against Smollett’s attorneys, accusing them of defaming their character even after prosecutors dropped the charges against the “Empire” actor. Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo claimed Smollett’s legal team “doubled down” on claims that they attacked the actor even after …
The Cook County State’s Attorney reportedly also took issue with Smollett facing more charges than R. Kelly
“Empire” co-creator and producer Lee Daniels spoke out on social media Wednesday to address the Jussie Smollett hate crime controversy, saying it’s been “a freakin’ rollercoaster” for cast and crew in the weeks following Smollett’s arrest. In a video posted to his official Instagram, Daniels said that he and the “Empire” team are experiencing “pain, anger, …
An Illinois grand jury found sufficient evidence to indict actor Jussie Smollett on more than a dozen felony criminal counts. According to WLS, the former “Empire” star is facing 16 counts of disorderly conduct in connection with allegedly filing a false police report. The indictment was handed down on Thursday at a Cook County court. …
While “Empire” producers decided to pull Jussie Smollett’s character from the season’s remaining episodes, one prominent actor from the series remains a vocal supporter. As CrimeOnline has previously reported, Smollett was arrested earlier this month on suspicion of orchestrating a hate crime he claimed occurred in January. Terrence Howard addressed the subject in an Instagram …
The latest twist in a narrative surrounding actor Jussie Smollett’s hate-crime claims included the “Empire” star’s reported admission to police that he has a drug dependency that has not been treated. According to Page Six, he made the claim after surrendering to authorities on Thursday on a fourth-degree felony charge of filing a false police …
