The City of Chicago are demanding the sum of $130,000 from Jussie Smollett to cover the cost of investigation into his report of attack, which police believed was staged.
In a letter to Smollett and his lawyers, the City officials have demanded the amount to cover the overtime spent investigating his claims by over two dozen officers who spent weeks looking into his claim.
Officers also spent the time reviewing video and physical evidence as well as conducting interviews, when the officers and resources, according to the letter, “could have been used for other investigations.”
President Trump also waged into the matter, calling it an “embarrassment”
“FBI & DOJ to review the outrageous Jussie Smollett case in Chicago. It is an embarrassment to our Nation!,” he tweeted.
Smollett has maintained his innocence throughout the case, while his lawyers have argued that the brothers who said he paid them to carry out the attacks were lying. She said the actor had hired one of the brothers as a personal trainer but had no idea who attacked him.
Early this week, prosecutors abruptly dropped all 16 felony counts that accused Smollett of making a false police report and staging his own attack.
The move infuriated authorities including the Mayor and Police chief who insisted the actor staged the attack.
Prosecutors gave no reasons why the case was dropped on Thursday during a court hearing.
According to the letter, if Smollett fails to pay, officials could charge him with violating a city ordinance and seek fines, damages and court costs
Smollett was initially charged with one felony count in February but a grand jury indicted him on 15 more counts earlier this month.