Jussie Smollettsays the $ 10, 000 he was mandated to pay after the criminal case against him was closed should prevent the city of Chicago from seeking reimbursement for the police investigation following his claim, back in January 2019, that he was a victim of a racist and homophobic attack.
Attorneys for the former “Empire” actor filed a response Tuesday to Chicago’s lawsuit in federal court. They also filed a counterclaim against the city, saying Smollett was the victim of a malicious prosecution that caused humiliation and extreme distress.
In January, Smolletttold policehe was attacked bytwo masked menas he was walking home from a Chicago Subway sandwich shop at approximately 2 am The openly gay actor alleged that the masked men beat him, taunted him with homophobic and racial slurs and yelled, “This is MAGA country.”
In February, police determined that Smollett’s masked assailants were brothersAbel and Ola Osundairo, who trained Smollett and worked with him on “Empire.” Authoritiesalso identified the brothersas those on surveillance video purchasing the rope that was reportedly hung around Jussie’s neck during the alleged attack.
After an intense investigation, police determined Smollett staged the entire episode with the help of two brothers, whom he paid to take part in the hoax assault, in an elaborate effort to drum up publicity for his middling career. Afterprosecutors dropped the case in March, Smollett maintained his innocence but agreed to let authorities keep a $ 10, 000 bail.
He was charged with filing a false police report, but those charges were dropped by Cook County State’s AttorneyKim Foxxa few weeks later.
JUSSIE SMOLLETT’S ALLEGED HATE CRIME ATTACK: A TIMELINE OF EVENTS
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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