The criminal charges against Jussie Smollett have been dropped by District Attorney in Cook County after he was accused of faking his own homophobic and racial attack by the Chicago Police Department.
According to TMZ which broke the news a few minutes ago, said all criminal charges against Jussie Smollett have been dropped, as his lawyers on Tuesday ran to Court in Chicago where he was facing 16-felony counts of lying to Police in the alleged racial and homophobic attack.
Reports also have it that the state filed the motion to dismiss the case and the judge signed off. The judge also granted a motion to seal the case, according to Charlie De Mar of CBS Chicago
Jussie Smollett will surrender his $10,000 bond and no more, as the case is over.
His attorneys released a statement saying:
“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. Jussie was attacked by two people he was unable to identify on January 29th. He was a victim who was 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 judgment.”
The statement continued, “Jussie and many others were hurt by these unfair and unwarranted actions. This entire situation is a reminder that there should never be an attempt to prove a case in the court of public opinion. That is wrong. It is a reminder that a victim, in this case Jussie, deserves dignity and respect. Dismissal of charges against the victim in this case was the only just result.”
They concluded, “Jussie is relieved to have this situation behind him and is very much looking forward to getting back to focusing on his family, friends and career.”
The Office of Cook County State’s Attorney released a statement saying, “After reviewing all of the facts and circumstances of the case, including Mr. Smollett’s volunteer service in the community and agreement to forfeit his bond to the City of Chicago, we believe this outcome is a just disposition and appropriate resolution to this case.”
A rep for Fox said “the studio and network have no comment.”