Jussie Smollett Arrested Following Felony Charge — See The Mugshot
Feb. 21 2019, Updated 1:51 p.m. ET
Jussie Smollett is under arrest and in custody with Chicago police for allegedly staging a fake race hate attack, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Public Information Co-Chair of the Chicago Police Anthony Gugliemli confirmed the actor's arrest in a tweet in the early hours of Thursday, Feb. 21.
"Jussie Smollett is under arrest and in custody of detectives," Gugliemli tweeted.
The officer confirmed a press conference will take place at 9 a.m. at the Chicago Police headquarters for an update on the investigation.
As RadarOnline.com readers know, Smollett, 36, was charged with a felony disorderly conduct charge for filing a false police report on Wednesday, Feb. 20. The crime carries a sentence of one to three years in prison and probation.
The actor told police that he was the target of a "race hate" attack in January. The actor told police that two Nigerian brothers yelled racial and homophobic slurs before allegedly battering him and placing a rope around the actor's neck.
Smollett also claimed they "poured an unknown chemical substance on him."
Both brothers worked on the set of Empire. After initial arrests, the two were released by police. One brother turned over his cell phone to police showing a phone call between he and Smollett in the vicinity of the attack before it happened.
Smollett’s legal team released a statement after the news broke: “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.”
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