Jussie Smollett Hit With New Indictment By Special Prosecutor In Chicago, Faces Six Counts Of Disorderly Conduct

Jussie Smollett has been indicted…again. This time, a special prosecutor in Chicago has indicted him with six counts of disorderly conduct stemming from his alleged racist & homophobic attack that occurred last January. More inside…

Last summer, we learned a special prosecutor in Chicago was assigned to re-investigate Jussie Smollett’s alleged “staged” attack after he was cleared on 16 felony charges of lying to police. He has maintained his innocence the entire time. At the time, it was reported new charges could be brought against the actor IF there are “reasonable grounds” to do so. Welp. They found something because an official indictment has been handed down.

Special Cook County prosecutor Dan Webb (who was assigned to the case by Cook County Judge Michael Toomin) incited the former “Empire” star today. The indictment stems from the alleged racist and homophobic attack that occurred in January 2019. He has been hit with six counts of disorderly conduct, accused of lying to police about the alleged attack last year.

You can read the full indictment below:

Jussie Smollett Indictment by ToddFeurer on Scribd

Jussie is expected in court for an arraignment on the latest charges against him on February 24th at the Criminal Court Building.

“The grand jury’s investigation revealed that Jussie Smollett planned and participated in a staged hate crime attack, and thereafter made numerous false statements to Chicago Police Department officers on multiple occasions, reporting a heinous hate crime that he, in fact, knew had not occurred,” Webb said in a statement.

In March 2019, all 16 felony charges against Jussie were dropped after he agreed to forfeit his $10,000 bail and performed 16 hours of community service. However, he never admitted guilt. Not only was the special prosecutor assigned to re-investigate Jussie’s claims, he was also tasked with investigating how Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx – the first African American woman to lead the office – handled the case. You’ll recall, she stepped down from the investigation before Jussie was charged, noting she had a conversation with someone related to Jussie.

In Dan Webb’s statement, he said his office “obtained sufficient factual evidence to determine that it disagrees with how the CCSAO resolved the Smollett case.”

“The CCSAO has been unable to provide the [Office of the Special Prosecutor] with documentary evidence that shows that, in dismissing the Smollett case on the terms presented in court on March 26, 2019, the CCSAO relied on other dispositions of similar cases prior to the Smollett case that would justify this disposition,” Webb wrote.

Yikes. As of now, Webb’s office hasn’t come to any final, concrete conclusions that anyone in Kim Foxx’s office engaged in any wrongdoing, but that part of the investigation remains open for now.

Read his full statement below:

Webb Statement on Smollett ... by ToddFeurer on Scribd

 

Kim Foxx is running for reelection this year and she’s questioning the timing of the indictment against Jussie.

"The Cook County State’s Attorney’s office charged Jussie Smollett with multiple counts, and today the Special Prosecutor did the same," Foxx's campaign said in a statement. "What’s questionable here is the James Comey-like timing of that charging decision, just 35 days before an election, which can only be interpreted as the further politicization of the justice system, something voters in the era of Donald Trump should consider offensive."

During the original investigation, police said Jussie paid two brothers - Abimbola "Abel" and Olabinjo "Ola" Osundairo – to help stage the attack. After they were arrested and released, they filed a separate federal lawsuit against Jussie’s lawyers - Mark Geragos and Tina Glandian – for defaming them by accusing them of attacking the former “Empire” star even after the investigation was complete.

The Osundairo brothers’ attorney, Gloria Schmidt, released a statement on behalf of the brothers:

"The Osundairo brothers are aware of the new charges brought against Jussie Smollett today by the grand jury. As stated before, they are fully committed to the public knowing the truth about what occurred on January 29, 2019," an attorney for the brothers said in a statement. "The Osundairo brothers will continue to cooperate with that process and they thank the Special Prosecutor’s office for their tireless work in seeing that justice was administered."

In November 2019, Jussie counter-sued the city of Chicago after they sued him for $130,000 in police overtime to investigate the alleged attack. Jussie filed a lawsuit accusing Chicago of maliciously prosecuting him.

We're sure this isn't the news Jussie Smollett wanted to hear to kick off 2020....

Photo: Getty

source: theybf