A Cook County grand jury in Chicago has indicted Jussie Smollett on 16 felony counts of disorderly conduct for filing a false police report, according to ABC 7 Chicago.
The grand jury returned the indictment on Thursday. The State’s Attorney’s Office originally charged Smollett with one felony count of disorderly conduct for filing a false police report on Feb. 20.
The indictment arrived as two separate sets of charges. The first set pertains to what Smollett told authorities about the purported attack, including what the two men did and said to him. The second set pertains to the second interview Smollett gave to the police on the day of the attack.
Each set of charges carries a possible sentence of probation to four years. Smollett pleaded not guilty to the first disorderly conduct charge from Feb. 20. He was then taken into custody and posted the $100,000 bond to be released.
Experts think it's probable that he'll get a plea deal and probably won’t spend any time in jail.
On Jan. 29, the Empire actor alleged that he was the victim of a serious hate crime in Chicago, claiming that two men assaulted him and called him racist and homophobic names. He also said they threw a chemical liquid on him and put a rope around his neck.
