Actor Jussie Smollett Image by Getty Images

(JTA) — Jussie Smollett, the “Empire” actor who had charges dropped last year for lying to police about a racist and homophobic attack, has been indicted by a special prosecutor on the same charges.

The special prosecutor, Dan Webb, said in a statement Tuesday that Smollett faces six felony counts of disorderly conduct over four false reports that he gave to police in which he said he was the victim of a hate crime “knowing that he was not the victim of a crime,” The Associated Press reported.

Cook County prosecutors had dropped charges against Smollett, 37, in March 2019, the case was sealed and the actor’s record expunged. The Chicago Prosecutor’s Office said then that Smollett had performed community service and forfeited his $100,000 bond.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Police concluded that Smollett, who is Jewish, black and gay, had staged the early-morning downtown Chicago attack in January 2019 on himself and had paid two Nigerian brothers, one who appears on “Empire,” to carry it out.

Smollett told police after the attack that two men “gained his attention by yelling out racial and homophobic slurs towards him” before attacking, pouring an “unknown chemical substance” on him and wrapping a rope around his neck.

Smollett’s openly gay character Jamal Lyon was written out of the final two episodes of the fifth season of “Empire” and did not return for the show’s sixth and final season.

The post Jussie Smollett indicted again over false reports of hate crime appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount