‘Empire’ actor Jussie Smollett is “under arrest and in the custody” of Chicago law enforcement Thursday morning; surrendering to police after felony charges were filed that claimed he knowingly filed a false police report and lied to investigators regarding a potential hate crime.
“Smollett was charged just hours after he was ‘officially classified as a suspect in a criminal investigation’ for allegedly ‘filing a false police report’ in connection with his Jan. 29 attack claims, police said. The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office approved the ‘Disorderly Conduct / Filing a False Police Report’ charges,” reports Fox News.
Press Briefing: Jussie Smollet is under arrest and in custody of detectives. At 9am at #ChicagoPolice Headquarters, Supt Eddie Johnson, Commander of Area Central Detectives Edward Wodnicki will brief reporters on the investigation prior to the defendants appearance in court. pic.twitter.com/9PSv8Ojec2
— Anthony Guglielmi (@AJGuglielmi) February 21, 2019
“Jussie Smollett is under arrest and in custody of detectives. At 9am at #ChicagoPolice Headquarters, Supt Eddie Johnson, Commander of Area Central Detectives Edward Wodnicki will brief reporters on the investigation prior to the defendants appearance in court,” confirmed the Communications Officer with the Chicago Police Department.
Read the full report at Fox News.
GERALDO ON HANNITY: Jussie Smollett ‘PLAYED US’
Fox News’ commentator Geraldo Rivera stopped by ‘Hannity’ Tuesday night to weigh-in on the ongoing controversy surrounding actor Jussie Smollett; saying the ‘Empire’ star “played us” by potentially perpetrating a hate-crime hoax.
“This guy played us. Race and racism and politics are inexplicably interwoven… African-Americans tend to gravitate towards the Democratic Party in huge numbers. A charge like this is so incendiary because it justified and re-affirmed the stereotype that people had,” said Rivera.
“The whole scenario with the noose and the bleach and invoking the President’s name. It was so patently obvious… yet we bought this guy’s unbelievable tale,” he added.
Watch Geraldo on Hannity above.
DEVELOPING: Jussie Smollett ‘Classified as a Suspect’ by Chicago PD, Felony Charges Filed
‘Empire’ actor Jussie Smollett is now classified as a “suspect” by the Chicago Police Department for allegedly “filing a false police report” regarding a potential hate-crime and violent attack.
“The update in the case was provided by the department’s Chief Communications Officer Anthony Guglielmi on Twitter. Detectives on the case were laying out evidence to a grand jury in Cook County,” reports Fox News.
The crime is listed as a class 4 felony.
“At first it was a thing of like, listen, if I tell the truth, then that’s it — cause it’s the truth,” said Smollett amid rumors surrounding the event. “Then it became a thing of like, oh, how can you doubt that? Like how do you not believe that? It’s the truth.”
Felony criminal charges have been approved by @CookCountySAO against Jussie Smollett for Disorderly Conduct / Filing a False Police Report. Detectives will make contact with his legal team to negotiate a reasonable surrender for his arrest. pic.twitter.com/LvBSYE2kVj
— Anthony Guglielmi (@AJGuglielmi) February 21, 2019
Read the full report at Fox News.