An Illinois grand jury has indicted actor Jussie Smollett with a 16-count disorderly conduct for filing false police report.
Smollett lawyers have issued a statement insisting on the innocence of Empire actor and accused law enforcement of leaking the detail to the police.
The grand jury returned two set of charges. The first is related to what Smollett said while the second has to do with what Smollett said in the second interview with the police.
In a statement, Chicago Police Department spokesman, Anthony Guglielmi said
“As Superintendent [Eddie] Johnson stated, allegations against Mr. Smollett are shameful & if proven, they are an affront to the people of Chicago who embraced him as a neighbor & respected him as a role model. We stand behind the work of detectives…”
Smollett attorney, Geragos said the indictment “desperate attempt to make headlines in order to distract from the internal [CPD] investigation launched to investigate the … leaking of false information” about the Smollett probe.
Smollett had told the police he was attacked by two masked men near his apartment in Chicago at around 2 a.m. on January 29.