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 Smollett, who is black and openly gay, was arrested on Thursday
and charged with lying to police about the supposed attack on
Jan. 29. Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson was visibly
angered as he condemned Smollett's actions.
Police did not spell out how the 36-year-old actor hoped to
boost his salary by staging such a hoax.
"Smollett took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to
promote his career," Johnson told a news conference, adding that
the actor paid the brothers $3,500 to stage the supposed hate
crime.
"This stunt was orchestrated by Smollett because he was
dissatisfied with this salary. He concocted a story about being
attacked," Johnson said. "We gave him the benefit of the doubt."
Police did not say how much Smollett is paid for his role on
"Empire." If convicted, he could face a prison sentence of one
to three years.
A judge set bail at $100,000 and ordered Smollett to surrender
his passport. The actor, who turned himself in early on
Thursday, was released from jail after paying 10 percent of the
bail amount as stipulated by the judge.
In court, Smollett wore a black jacket and stared at the
prosecutor as she detailed the allegations against him.
A spokesman for Smollett's lawyers, Todd Pugh and Victor
Henderson, said in an email, "Once we are ready to make
statement we will do so." On Wednesday, the lawyers had said
they were conducting a thorough investigation to form an
aggressive defense.
Smollett had claimed that two masked men struck him and put a
noose round his neck while shouting "This is MAGA country,"
referring to Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan. It was
initially reported that an unknown substance was poured over
him, but Johnson on Thursday said that was unclear.
"@JussieSmollett - what about MAGA and the tens of millions of
people you insulted with your racist and dangerous comments!? #MAGA,"
Trump wrote on Twitter on Thursday.
The Smollett case touched off a furor in the United States as it
tapped into increasingly heated political divisions since
Trump's 2016 election. Critics of the president have said his
rhetoric has fueled racism and violence, while his supporters
say the press has been too quick to embrace any news that
appears to cast Trump and his supporters in a bad light.
SMOLLETT RETURNS TO 'EMPIRE' SET
20th Century Fox Television, which airs "Empire" and on
Wednesday said that Smollett "continues to be a consummate
professional on set," on Thursday said in a statement, "We are
evaluating the situation and we are considering our options." It
also said it understands "the seriousness of the matter and we
respect the legal process."
Hollywood trade publication Variety reported that Smollett
returned to the set of "Empire" - a drama about a music empire
and a family dynasty - after being released by police on
Thursday.
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According to court papers filed in the sensational case, Smollett
wrote the brothers a $3,500 personal check and gave them $100 to buy
the rope, ski masks, gloves and red MAGA-style baseball caps that
were used in the supposed attack.
Police interviewed more than 100 people, reviewed footage from more
than 55 surveillance cameras and executed more than 50 search
warrants.
Johnson told reporters that Smollett had first tried to gain
attention by sending himself a threatening letter filled with
"racial, homophobic and political language."
"When that didn't work, Smollett paid $3,500 to stage this attack
and drag Chicago's reputation through the mud," the police chief
said.
On Feb. 13, police arrested the two brothers, who had been
recognized from surveillance footage of the area where Smollett said
the attack occurred. One of the two men had appeared with Smollett
on "Empire," according to police and their lawyer.
Prosecutors said one of the brothers had supplied Smollett with
"designer drugs" in the past.
Near the end of the 48 hours in which police are allowed to detain
potential suspects without charging them, the brothers "decided to
confess to the entirety of what the plot was," Johnson said. They
became cooperating witnesses and were released two days later
without charges.
Since the alleged attack, Smollett had received support on social
media, including from several celebrities and Democratic
presidential candidates. Others were skeptical of the incident,
which Smollett said occurred around 2 a.m. on a Chicago street
during one of the city's coldest weeks in recent history.
In an interview with "Good Morning America" last week, Smollett said
he was angry that some people questioned his story, and he suggested
the disbelief might come from racial bias.
Johnson called for Smollett to apologize to the city and said he was
worried that real victims might now be reluctant to come forward.
"My concern is that hate crimes will now be publicly met with a
level of skepticism," the police chief told reporters, adding that
the city had bigger problems.
"I just wish that the families of gun violence in this city got this
much attention," he said.
(Reporting by Karen Pierog and Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago and Gina
Cherelus in New York; Additional reporting by Brendan O'Brien in
Milwaukee, Wis., Gabriella Borter and Peter Szekely in New York and
Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by Daniel Wallis, Matthew Lewis
and Leslie Adler)
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