Jussie Smollett attack in Chicago: Attorney of the "Empire" accused of disorderly conduct for filing false police report, prosecutors say



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CHICAGO –

Actor "Empire" Jussie Smollett has been charged with disorderly conduct for filing a false police report, the Cook County Attorney's Office announced Wednesday evening.

Smollett is scheduled to appear in Chicago Court at 1:30 pm Thursday. Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the CPD detectives would contact Smollett's legal team to "negotiate a reasonable surrender for his arrest".

Smollett is not in detention at the present time. Guglielmi told ABC News that the police were not looking for the actor because "it's not a violent crime", but added "the longer it goes, the more we have to do what we need to do . "

Guglielmi told ABC News police that he did not know where Smollett was and "his lawyers did not realize where he was at this point."

"I know it can be emotionally difficult, and we hope it does not do anything terrible – we want to make it as diplomatic as possible." In the end, it is only d & # 39; a class 4 crime. "He'll come out and we want to make it as easy as possible for him, but again, it's about accountability," Guglielmi told ABC News.

Twentieth Century Fox Television and Fox Entertainment have no comments yet.

Guglielmi said the CPD detectives had presented evidence before a grand jury in Cook County on Wednesday.

Smollett's lawyers, Todd Pugh and Victor Henderson, issued a statement in which he stated: "Like any other citizen, Mr. Smollett benefits from the presumption of innocence, especially when there has been a investigation like this where information, true or false, has been revealed, in such circumstances, we intend to conduct a thorough investigation and set up an aggressive defense. "

On Wednesday night, ABC7 Eyewitness News got a surveillance video of the Osundairo brothers related to the alleged attack in a beauty product store. The video shows the brothers who buy items possibly used in the case.

Staff at Beauty House in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood said the two brothers had gone to the store the night before the alleged attack. The store is a little over a kilometer from their apartment and a security guard said he remembered siblings because they had bought ski masks.

Chicago police have confirmed the authenticity of the video surveillance, which shows the brothers buying many items, including a red cap, gloves and ski masks.

The security officer, Montago Silas, said the siblings had asked him if the store was selling ski masks, but the company did not own the traditional balaclava type mask. they only wore the kind with separate eye holes. He thought it was strange that they bought them.

"It was weird because it was unusual for people to buy this type of masks, not since the 70's, but I thought it was a bit strange," he said. Montago.

The surveillance video also shows them leaving the store. They ride in a silver two-door coupe before leaving. A few hours later, Smollett reported the alleged attack.

Montago said that he was following the story of Smollett, but had never thought that he would be part of it.

The video does not show siblings buying the rope that, according to Smollett, was placed around his neck. According to some sources, this article came from a hardware store.

RELATED: Chronology of key moments of the alleged attack on the actor & # 39; Empire & # 39;

The lawyer representing the Ousundairo brothers stated that his clients had fully cooperated with the investigation and that they did not expect to be charged.

Smollett reported on January 29 that he had been attacked by two masked men who had thrown him under racist and homophobic slurs, had him beaten, sent him a chemical liquid and passed him a rope around the neck in Streeterville, Chicago.

Two days after the alleged attack, the Chicago Police released surveillance footage of two people that they considered to be of interest to the attack. The two men were subsequently identified as brothers and brought for interrogation.

A police source said the brothers allege that Smollett paid them to orchestrate and organize the attack. The brothers said Smollett was upset by the fact that the threatening letter addressed to the Empire's studios in Chicago had not attracted enough attention.

The detectives are actively investigating the allegation, but have not confirmed it, the official said.

RELATED: Brethren tell police that Jussie Smollett paid them to organize an attack, sources said

On Wednesday, Gugliemi confirmed that prosecutors were discussing with Jussie Smollett's lawyers as part of their investigation into an alleged attack on the "Empire" actor.

Guglielmi said he could not confirm the information that half a dozen subpoenas requesting the cell phone and Smollett's bank records were issued.

"The only tool available to detectives for corroborating information is a search warrant and subpoena, I'm not free to discuss details, but it's not uncommon for a detective or a law enforcement officer assigns files to appear, "said Guglielmi.

Over the weekend, the Chicago police said she was "looking forward" to reinterviewing Smollett after releasing the two brothers without charge.

FBI and US Postal Inspection Service Investigate January 22 Letter to Chicago Studio for "Empire" and Smollett's Role in Sending Letter, Two Federal Officials Confirmed at ABC News. The letter is currently in the FBI's crime lab for analysis, according to one of these sources.

RELATED: Cook County State Attorney recuses Smollett case

Cook County lawyer Kim Foxx withdrew from the investigation into Smollett's alleged attack, his office told ABC News on Tuesday.

"As a precaution, the decision to recuse itself was made to deal with possible issues of impartiality based on familiarity with potential witnesses in the case," a spokeswoman told ABC News. by e-mail.

Foxx clarified his reasons Wednesday. The Cook County Attorney's Office issued a statement in which he explained: "Shortly after the incident, late January, the state's attorney, Foxx, met with a Jussie Smollett's family member about the incident and their concerns, and facilitated the connection with the Chicago Police Department.Becoming on these previous conversations and by a great amount of caution, the Attorney General Foxx decided last week to depart from the decision-making process and delegated it to his first assistant, Joseph Magats, a 28-year-old veteran prosecutor. "

The Illinois Elections Council documents show that Vic Henderson, one of the attorneys representing Smollett, gave $ 250 to the Foxx campaign in 2016, but that has nothing to do with the challenge.

Cook County State Attorney Anita Alvarez criticized Foxx in a Facebook publication on Wednesday:

"I might have just had to recuse myself from the difficult cases that occurred on my desk when I was a state attorney." I had the impression that when the voters m & # 39; I had elected and that I had taken an oath, it meant that I had to do my job. "

Alvarez lost the March 2016 Democratic primary to Foxx, following the fallout from the Laquan McDonald case investigation.

Last week, Smollett met Robin Roberts of Good Morning America and talked about the letter.

"Just because on the letter, there was a guy hanging from a tree with a gun pointing at her with the words that say," Smollett, Jussie, you'll die, black (expletive), "said Smollett. "There was no address, but the return address is indicated in large, in red, you know, in capital letters," MAGA. "Did I invent that too?"

WATCH: Jussie Smollett interview with "Good Morning America": "I'm not weak"

After the police department had investigated Smollett's attack for several weeks as a possible hate crime, they discovered that one of the brothers had bought the rope for the attack at a local hardware store . The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the store was Ravenswood's Crafty Beaver hardware store.

ABC7 Eyewitness News learned Tuesday that Mr. Smollett had not pleaded any challenge to DUI: unlicensed driving and false information to law enforcement in Los Angeles in 2007. He was sentenced to two years of probation and was sentenced to three years. days in jail or $ 100 for the three charges of misdemeanor, according to the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office, though he does not know which option he has chosen.

If he is found guilty of producing a false police report, which is a crime in Illinois, Smollett could be sentenced to three years in prison.

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