Former Empire star Jussie Smollett has been indicted on six counts of making a false report by special prosecutor Dan Webb in connection to the infamous alleged attack that occurred in January 2019, FOX 4 News reports. He is due in court on February 24.
In March 2019, all of the charges against Smollett were suddenly dropped with his record getting "wiped clean" in exchange for forfeiting his $10,000 bond to the city, and community service. The sudden case dismissal led to Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson fiercely criticizing the ruling. Emanuel stated that the decision a "whitewash of justice," while Johnson declared that the city was "still owed an apology."
A Chicago judge appointed Webb to investigate Smollett's case last August amid complaints over Cook County State Attorney Kim Foxx's involvement in the process. Foxx did not formally recuse herself from the case over conversations she had with Tina Tchen, a friend of Smollett family, but merely turned the decision-making power over to her first assistant Joe Magats.
A few weeks after Foxx recused herself and her entire office, Smollett was indicted for 16 felony counts of "false report of offense" for allegedly orchestrating a hate crime against himself with the help of two brothers. She still maintained a correspondence with Magats via text, calling the punishment against the actor "excessive." Magats understood where she was coming from, responding, "Yes. I can see where that can be seen as excessive."
Less than three weeks later, the case was abruptly dropped. Foxx released the following statement after Tuesday's announcement.
