Jussie Smollett’s story is getting uglier by the moment. Not only has he been arrested, but his mugshot has been posted and it is alleged he staged the attack over dissatisfaction with his salary on Empire. This, according to police, prompted the orchestration, paying the alleged attackers $3500! Jussie surrendered to the Chicago Police Department earlier this morning, and has since been arrested. His mugshot is now flooding the internet. Chicago Police Chief, Eddie Johnson, in a press conference blasted Smollett, citing the resources and manpower this case has taken from other investigations. He also confirmed the alleged threatening letter Jussie received prior to his alleged attack was fabricated.

via National Review

“Smollett took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career,” Johnson said. “This publicity stunt was a scar that Chicago didn’t earn, and certainly didn’t deserve.”

Johnson went on to explain that the two Nigerian brothers hired by Smollett to carry out the hoax told police he hoped the staged attack would be financially beneficial.

“The stunt was orchestrated by Smollett because he was dissatisfied with his salary,” Johnson said.

via Entertainment Weekly

He further shared that the Empire star was behind the threatening letter that he had previously received and when that didn’t get the reaction he wanted, Smollett paid $3,500 to Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo, who he knew through the hit Fox series. Detective Edward Wodnicki then went through the entire timeline, going inside the entire investigation. Smollett will be going in front of a judge at 2:30 p.m. ET.

This is overwhelming. We seriously doubt any police chief would come forward to do a press conference and state all of this so boldly if they did not have a substantial amount of evidence against Jussie. Honestly, this is heartwrenching, disappointing, confusing. Two words–Jussie, why?

It is a dark day indeed for Jussie Smollett, his family, friends, and fans. The Empire actor has now been arrested for the felony charge of filing a false police report which could earn him probation or one to three years of jail time! Jussie has surrendered to the police, and is now being taken into custody!

via CNN

More than three weeks after he alleged that he was the victim of a hate crime, actor Jussie Smollett has been arrested on suspicion of filing a false report about it, Chicago police said Thursday morning.

The “Empire” star was taken into custody around 5 a.m. CT, police said, ahead of a 1:30 p.m. bail hearing.

Smollett faces a felony charge of disorderly conduct for allegedly filing a false report claiming he was attacked by two men, including one who was masked, in the early morning of January 29 in Chicago. He alleged they yelled racist and homophobic slurs, tied a rope around his neck and poured an unknown substance on him.

At the time, police said they were treating the attack against the black and gay actor as a hate crime.

But in the weeks since the alleged attack first made headlines, the narrative has unraveled with several twists, transforming him from a victim to a suspect.

We really would like to “say it ain’t so,” but apparently it is. It is also official that Jussie Smollett is now being charged with a felony for filing a false police report. In legal jargon, his charge is a Class 4 Felony and if found guilty, he could possibly receive probation or up to 3 years in  jail time.Adding insult to injury, and unsurprisingly, sources close to Fox are stating that Empire is now contemplating suspending him from the series.

via ABC Chicago 7

“Empire” actor Jussie Smollett has been charged with one count of felony disorderly conduct for filing a false police report, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office said Wednesday evening.

Smollett is due in court in Chicago at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said CPD detectives will make contact with Smollett’s legal team to “negotiate a reasonable surrender for his arrest.”

Smollett is not in custody at this time. Guglielmi told ABC News police are not actively looking for the actor because “this is not a violent crime,” but said “the longer this goes, the more we have to do what we have to do.”

Guglielmi told ABC News police do not know where Smollett is, and “his attorneys have not shared where he is at this point.”

“I know this can be difficult emotionally, and we hope he doesn’t do anything terrible. We want to make this as diplomatic as possible. In the end, this is only a class 4 felony. He will get through this and we want to make it as easy as possible for him to do it. But again, it is about accountability,” Guglielmi told ABC News.

Twentieth Century Fox Television and Fox Entertainment said they have no comment at this time.

Guglielmi said CPD detectives presented evidence before a Cook County grand jury Wednesday.

Smollett’s attorneys, Todd Pugh and Victor Henderson, released a statement, saying, “Like any other citizen, Mr. Smollett enjoys the presumption of innocence, particularly when there has been an investigation like this one where information, both true and false, has been repeatedly leaked. Given these circumstances, we intend to conduct a thorough investigation and to mount an aggressive defense.”

Twentieth Century Fox has released the following statement, even though Deadline reports that producers are trying to figure out how to suspend his character or give him some time off. 

“Jussie Smollett continues to be a consummate professional on set and as we have previously stated, he is not being written out of the show.” – STATEMENT FROM 20TH CENTURY FOX TELEVISION AND FOX ENTERTAINMENT

— 20th Century Fox TV (@20centuryfoxTV) February 20, 2019

This entire situation can only be described in two words–confusing and debacle! We are not sure how the grand jury he is facing soon will sway, but one thing is for sure is that the public’s trust in Jussie Smollett is now shaken. We will keep you posted as more information becomes available.