Nuccio DiNuzzo via Getty ImagesOfficials in Chicago have dropped criminal charges against “Empire” actorJussie Smollett.
Officials in Chicago have dropped the charges against “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett, who was accused of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself.
Earlier this month, Smollett pleaded not guilty to 16 felony counts for allegedly staging the January attack and lying to officials.
“Today, all criminal charges against Jussie Smollett were dropped and his record has been wiped clean of the filing of this tragic complaint against him,” his lawyers said in a statement Tuesday, continuing to maintain that Smollett was “a victim” and “vilified and made to appear as a perpetrator as a result of false and inappropriate remarks made to the public causing an inappropriate rush to judgement.”
“We’re very happy for this result and we are very anxious for Jussie to get on with his career and his life,” Smollett attorney Patricia Brown Holmes said during a press conference shortly after the statement.
Holmes declined to comment about the details of the case, saying that it “had spiraled out of control.”
“We have nothing to say to the police department, except to investigate charges and not try cases in the press,” Holmes said.
The case has been sealed, and the office of Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said it had reached an “agreement” with Smollett and his attorneys rather than a plea deal, so Smollett will not be required to perform community service.
“After reviewing all of the facts and circumstances of the case ... we believe this outcome is a just disposition and appropriate resolution to this case,” the office said in a statement.
In explaining the decision to drop the charges, Assistant State’s Attorney Joe Magats told The New York Times that “we work to prioritize violent crime and the drivers of violent crime. Public safety is our number one priority. I don’t see Jussie Smollett as a threat to public safety.”
“We stand behind the investigation, we stand behind the decision to charge him and we stand behind the charges in the case. The mere fact that it was disposed of in an alternative manner does not mean that there were any problems or infirmities in the case or the evidence,” Magats continued, saying the decision does not mean Smollett has been exonerated
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