(Reuters) - Jussie Smollett has filed a lawsuit accusing Chicago of maliciously prosecuting him after concluding that the actor’s claim to having been the victim of a racist and homophobic beating on a city street was a hoax.
Smollett, 37, best known for his work on the Fox television drama “Empire,” made his accusation in counterclaims filed on Wednesday, after Chicago sued him to recoup $130,106 in police overtime costs to investigate the beating claim.
He accused the city, police and others of causing “substantial economic damages as well as reputational harm, humiliation, mental anguish and extreme emotional distress,” and is seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
“The city stands by its original complaint and will continue to pursue this litigation,” Bill McCaffrey, a spokesman for Chicago’s law department, said by email. “We fully expect to be successful in defeating these counterclaims.”
Smollett, who is black and gay, ignited a social media firestorm after telling police on Jan. 29 that two masked men had thrown a noose around his neck, poured bleach on him and shouted racial and homophobic slurs, while expressing support for U.S. President Donald Trump.
Illinois prosecutors charged Smollett on Feb. 20 with making up the attack, including by hiring two brothers to stage it, and falsely reporting a “high-profile hate crime” to draw publicity after becoming dissatisfied with his “Empire” salary.
But they dropped the criminal case on March 26, drawing anger from Chicago’s police department and then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who called it a “whitewash of justice.”
Smollett pleaded not guilty to lying about the attack, and has long said he was truthful about it.
Chicago nonetheless sought triple damages in its April 11 civil lawsuit to recoup overtime costs.
Smollett played singer-songwriter Jamal Lyon on “Empire” but was dropped from the show after the alleged attack.
The counterclaims were filed against Chicago, the brothers and a number of police officers and employees.
Smollett accused police of trying to prosecute him based on the brothers’ “false, self-serving and unreliable statements in order to close the investigation into the attack.”
He also said Chicago could not recover investigative costs because it already accepted his $10,000 “payment in full” in connection with the dismissal of the criminal case.
Without ruling on the merits, U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall on Oct. 22 refused to dismiss Chicago’s civil lawsuit against Smollett, saying his high profile and “the extreme nature of the accusations” could explain the overtime costs.
The case is Chicago v. Smollett, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, No. 19-04547.
Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Cynthia Osterman
CHICAGO - Chicago authorities on Tuesday dropped the charges against a US television actor accused of fabricating a hate crime, in a shock move that enraged the city's police and mayor, who dismissed it as a "whitewash."
Prosecutors said they had shelved all 16 felony charges against "Empire" star Jussie Smollett in exchange for an agreement that he carry out community service and forfeit a $10,000 bond payment.
But Smollett's lawyers claimed there was no such agreement, and that the actor was the victim of a rush to judgment.
"There is no deal. The state dismissed the charges," attorney Patricia Holmes said as the actor celebrated with family, whose claim that Smollett had been vindicated was flatly rejected by the police.
The 36-year-old, one of the main cast members on Fox musical drama "Empire" alongside Taraji P. Henson, was accused of masterminding a hoax attack in downtown Chicago to gain publicity and secure a bigger paycheck.
He reported to police that he was attacked in the middle of the night in January by two masked men while walking near his home.
Smollett maintained his innocence in the face of a damning public account from authorities' of their case against him.
They accused him of sending himself a threatening letter and hiring 2 acquaintances to stage the attack, complete with homophobic and racial slurs, while invoking Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan.
"I have been truthful and consistent on every single level since day one," Smollett, who is black and gay, said at a brief news conference.
"This has been an incredibly difficult time," he added, "Honestly, one of the worst in my entire life."
Chicago's police chief and mayor, both visibly angry, denounced the decision to drop the case and countered Smollett's insistence of his innocence.
"This is a whitewash of justice," Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a former congressman and White House chief-of-staff, told a hastily-arranged news conference.
"Mr. Smollett is still saying that he is innocent, still running down the Chicago Police Department. How dare (he)?" the mayor added.
'WE DID NOT EXONERATE'
The prosecutor's office offered little explanation at first for suddenly reversing course before finally characterized its decision as a routine one carried out in thousands of cases.
"This is not a new or unusual practice. An alternative disposition does not mean that there were any problems or infirmities with the case or the evidence," the Cook County State Attorney's office said in a statement.
"We stand behind the Chicago Police Department's investigation and our decision to approve charges in this case. We did not exonerate Mr. Smollett."
Authorities have said there is enough evidence to back up their case, including surveillance camera footage, text messages, phone records, and a cashed check Smollett wrote to brothers Ola and Abel Osundairo, both of whom worked on "Empire," to carry out the alleged plan.
"I think this city is still owed an apology," Chicago police chief Eddie Johnson said Tuesday.
"They chose to hide behind secrecy and broker a deal to circumvent the judicial system," he said. "I stand behind the detective's investigation."
Holmes, Smollett's lawyer, acknowledged that the brothers had admitted carrying out the attack, but accused police of using "the press to convict people before they're tried in a court of law."
"We believe that it was the correct result in this case. We are very happy with this result," she said.
The initial news of the attack had prompted widespread sympathy for Smollett and outrage over the nature of the alleged crime.
But the star was written out of the last 2 episodes of the most recent season of "Empire" -- which is set in New York but filmed in Chicago -- amid uproar over the accusations against him.
Smollett said he wanted "nothing more than to just get back to work and move on with my life."
His family described him as "an innocent man whose name and character has been unjustly smeared" in a statement published by the ABC News.
Fox producers said Tuesday they were "gratified that all charges against him have been dismissed" but would not comment on whether he would return to the show.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
CHICAGO - A grand jury in Chicago has returned a 16-count felony indictment against television actor Jussie Smollett, accusing him of falsely reporting to police that he was the victim of a hate-crime assault, local media reported on Friday, citing court records.
Smollett, who is black and openly gay and plays a gay character on the Fox network hip-hop drama "Empire," was previously charged in a single-count criminal complaint with lying to police about a supposed racist and homophobic attack on Jan. 29 by supporters of President Donald Trump.
A spokeswoman for Smollett, 36, who was arrested and later released on $100,000 bond 2 weeks ago in connection with the initial charge against him, did not immediately return a call or email seeking comment. An attorney for the actor could not immediately be reached for comment.
At least 2 local television stations reported that a Cook County grand jury charged Smollett with 16 counts of disorderly conduct for allegedly giving false accounts of an attack on him to police investigators.
At the time he was initially charged, Chicago's police chief said that Smollett had paid 2 brothers to stage an assault on him.
According to previous police accounts, Smollett reported that 2 masked men approached him on a darkened street shouting racial and homophobic slurs, struck him in the face, doused him with an "unknown chemical substance," and wrapped a rope around his neck before they fled.
According to the account, the attackers had shouted, "This is MAGA country," referring to Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan.
Smollett took himself to a hospital but was not seriously hurt, police had said.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
CHICAGO - Actor Jussie Smollett paid 2 brothers thousands of dollars to beat him in a staged racist and homophobic attack because he was unhappy with his salary on the hip-hop TV drama "Empire," Chicago's police chief said on Thursday.
Smollett, who is black and openly gay, was arrested on Thursday and charged with lying to police about the alleged attack on Jan. 29. Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson was visibly angered as he condemned his actions.
Police did not spell out how the 36-year-old actor hoped to boost his salary by staging the supposed attack by supporters of President Donald Trump.
"Smollett took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career," Johnson told a news conference, adding that the actor paid $3,500 to the brothers to stage the supposed hate crime.
"This stunt was orchestrated by Smollett because he was dissatisfied with this salary. He concocted a story about being attacked," Johnson said. "We gave him the benefit of the doubt."
Police did not say anything about the amount of Smollett's salary. If convicted, he could face a prison sentence of 1 to 3 years. A judge set bail at $100,000 and ordered Smollett to surrender his passport. The actor was in the process of being released after paying 10 percent of the amount on Thursday afternoon.
Smollett had said 2 apparent Trump supporters struck him and put a noose round his neck while shouting "This is MAGA country," referring to Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan. It was initially reported that an unknown substance was poured over him, but Johnson on Thursday said that was unclear.
"@JussieSmollett - what about MAGA and the tens of millions of people you insulted with your racist and dangerous comments!? #MAGA," Trump wrote on Twitter on Thursday.
The Smollett case has become a sensation in the United States as it tapped in to increasingly heated political divisions since the election of Trump in Nov. 2016. Critics of Trump have said his rhetoric has fueled racism and violence, while the president's supporters say the press has been too quick to embrace any news that appears to cast Trump and his supporters in a bad light.
20th Century Fox Television, which airs "Empire," said in a statement on Thursday that it understands the seriousness of the matter and respects the legal process. "We are evaluating the situation and we are considering our options," the statement said.
Smollett wrote the brothers a $3,500 personal check and gave them $100 to buy the rope, ski masks, gloves, and red MAGA-style baseball caps that were used in the supposed attack, according to court papers.
A spokesman for Smollett's lawyers, Todd Pugh and Victor Henderson, said on Thursday in an email, "once we are ready to make statement we will do so."
On Wednesday, they had said they were conducting a thorough investigation to form an aggressive defense.
'THROUGH THE MUD'
Police interviewed more than 100 people, reviewed video from more than 55 surveillance cameras, and executed more than 50 search warrants during the investigation.
Johnson told reporters that Smollett had first tried to gain attention by sending himself a threatening letter filled with "racial, homophobic, and political language."
"When that didn't work, Smollett paid $3,500 to stage this attack and drag Chicago's reputation through the mud," the police chief said.
On Feb. 13, police arrested the 2 brothers who were recognized from surveillance footage of the area where Smollett said the attack occurred. One of the brothers worked with Smollett on "Empire," according to police and their lawyer.
Near the end of the 48 hours in which police are allowed to detain potential suspects without charging them, the brothers "decided to confess to the entirety of what the plot was," Johnson said. They became cooperating witnesses and were released 2 days later without charges.
Since the alleged attack, Smollett had received support on social media, including from several celebrities and Democratic presidential candidates. Others were skeptical of the incident, which Smollett said occurred around 2 a.m. on a Chicago street during one of the city's coldest weeks in recent history.
In an interview with "Good Morning America" last week, Smollett said he was angry that some people questioned his story, and he suggested the disbelief might come from racial bias.
Johnson called for Smollett to apologize to the city and said he was worried that real victims might now be reluctant to come forward.
"My concern is that hate crimes will now be publicly met with a level of skepticism," Johnson told reporters, adding that the city had bigger problems.
"I just wish that the families of gun violence in this city got this much attention," the police chief said.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
