FILE PHOTO: Actor Jussie Smollett leaves the Leighton Criminal Court Building after his hearing in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. March 14, 2019. REUTERS/Kamil Krzaczynski
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett was charged on Tuesday in a six-count indictment, returned at the recommendation of a special prosecutor, with falsely claiming to Chicago police that he had been the victim of a hate crime.
The indictment came nearly a year after Cook County prosecutors dropped earlier charges accusing Smollett, who is black and openly gay, of staging a phony hate crime. The dismissal of the earlier charge drew an outcry from the city’s police department and led to a Cook County judge appointing former U.S. Attorney Dan Webb to review the case.
Reporting by Brendan O’Brien and Karen Pierog in Chicago; Writing and additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Culver City; Editing by Chris Reese