The police in the American city of Chicago accuse the "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett of having made false statements to the authorities. The 36-year-old is being led as a suspect in a preliminary investigation, said police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi via Twitter. Investigators are currently presenting evidence to a grand jury in Cook County.

The jury should decide whether an indictment is justified. Should this be raised and Smollett should be found guilty, he could face imprisonment of between twelve months and three years.

Case Update: Jussie Smollett is now classified as a suspect in a criminal investigation by #ChicagoPolice for filing a false police report (Class 4 felony). Detectives are currently presenting evidence before a Cook County grand jury. pic.twitter.com/FhDcbBKsuU

- Anthony Guglielmi (@AJGuglielmi) February 20, 2019

The case of Smollett has been making headlines in the US for days. The actor had claimed to have been attacked by two men in downtown Chicago on January 29th. They should therefore roaring racist and anti-gay insults at night, beaten Smollett and put a rope around his neck.

The police initially started investigations into possible hate crimes. Representatives of the film industry, but also politicians such as former US Vice President Joe Biden were outraged.

However, there was soon some doubt about Smollett's version of the crime. Investigators were unable to find surveillance videos of the alleged attack. Two men were arrested in the meantime, but were released last Friday after about 48 hours. The police then said the investigation had "postponed" after the interrogation of those briefly detained. They want to talk to Smollett again.

photo gallery


7 pictures

Alleged raid: the case of Jussie Smollett

The openly gay African-American actor was best known for his role in the television series Empire. Reports that the producers wanted to dismiss the show Smollett, reported 20th Century Fox Television and Fox Entertainment on Wednesday in a release.