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Timeline: The Jussie Smollett case

Actor Jussie Smollett with his lawyers
Actor Jussie Smollett in the court the day all charges were dropped against him. Photo: E. Jason Wambsgans/AFP/Getty Images

Charges against "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett were abruptly dropped last month for filing a false police report.

Background: Smollett claimed to be the victim of a hate crime in January when 2 men violently attacked him. He was charged with filing false police reports and planning the attack in an attempt to save his character from being written off the "Empire."

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Timeline:

Jan. 18: Smollett received an envelope with "MAGA" written on it, and a letter with racist and homophobic language inside, reports the Chicago Tribune.

Jan. 29: A week later, Smollett was attacked by 2 men who threw a noose around his neck and allegedly poured bleach on him, CNN reports. He filed a police report that day. Smollett received national attention and sympathy including from President Trump, per Billboard.

Feb. 12: Smollett provides the police with redacted phone records amid rumors that he filed a false police report, reports NBC Chicago.

Feb. 15: Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the 2 suspects, Nigerian brothers, are in custody, but they are released from police custody the same day, AP reports.

Feb. 16: The focus of the case shifted from the 2 brothers to Smollett, according to AP.

Feb. 20: Police charge Smollett with falsifying a police report and disorderly conduct. Smollett allegedly paid the 2 brothers $3,500 to stage the attack.

Feb. 22: It is announced that Smollett's character will be written off from the show "Empire," per CNN.

March 9: A Chicago grand jury indicts Smollett on 16 counts, AP reports.

March 26: All charges against Smollett are dropped by prosecutors. Assistant state's attorney Joseph Magats told the New York Time's Julie Bosman that they need to "prioritize violent crime and the drivers of violent crime."

March 28: Smollett receives a letter from the city of Chicago’s legal department requesting more than $130,000 for "overtime hours in the investigation" of his reported attack.

"Do I think justice was served? No ... I think this city is still owed an apology."
— Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson

April 4: Chicago's Fraternal Order of Police and the suburban police chief associations gave Cook County State's Attorney Kimberly Foxx a "no confidence" vote and demanded her resignation over her office's handing of the case.

  • The city's Law Department said it will file a civil suit "in the near future" against Smollett for refusing to reimburse the $130,000 to cover the cost of the probe.

April 11: The city of Chicago files a civil complaint against Smollett as a result of Smollett's refusal to reimburse the city for the cost of the investigation, perWGC9.

Go Deeper: How Chicago police cracked the Jussie Smollett case

Hate crimes