Jussie Smollett testifies to receiving text from CNN's Don Lemon during Chicago Police attack investigation

the actor told police he was attacked near downtown Chicago and that he was subject to racist and homophobic slurs by two unknown men, who also poured bleach on him and wrapped a noose around his neck.Authorities investigated the claims and determined that Smollett orchestrated the scheme. In February 2019, he was arrested for and charged with allegedly filing a false police report. Smollett plead not guilty to these initial charges, and the charges were dropped in March 2019.Cook County State’s

investigation of former "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett should be made public, a judge ruled Monday.Smollett was convicted this month of lying to police in January 2019 about what he said was a racist, homophobic attack in downtown Chicago. Prosecutors said Smollett, who is Black and gay, staged a fake attack to get publicity.

The only Black juror on the panel that convicted Jussie Smollett of lying to Chicago police said he couldn't get past what the actor did not do after he claimed attackers looped a noose around his neck: Rip it off and keep it off. If others saw the noose as Smollett's clumsy effort to portray his attackers as racist, Andre Hope saw much more.

Actor Jussie Smollett was found guilty of lying to police last week after he claimed he was the victim of a hate crime in 2019 and, of all things, a Subway sandwich was a key piece of evidence in the case against him, the former Chicago police superintendent said, according to reports.  Ex-Superintendent Eddie Johnson told NewsNationNow's "Morning in America" that Smollett left his home around 2 a.m.

Jussie Smollett (Pic: Shutterstock.com)

The verdict is in. Jussie Smollett was found guilty in a criminal trial after he was accused of faking an alleged attack against him in January 2019.

 Former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett was convicted Thursday on five of six charges he staged an anti-gay, racist attack on himself nearly three years ago and then lied to Chicago police about it.

The jury in Jussie Smollett’s trial started deliberating Wednesday, after a prosecutor said there is “overwhelming evidence” that the former “Empire” actor lied to police about being the victim of an anti-gay, racist attack and his defence attorney said the charges are based on lies.

With the defense and the prosecution resting their respective cases earlier this week, closing arguments are set to begin Wednesday morning in the case against former "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett.  Smollett, who is Black and gay, is accused of staging a racist, homophobic hate crime against himself in downtown Chicago in January 2019.

CHICAGO -- Closing arguments are scheduled for Wednesday morning in the case against former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett, who is accused of staging a racist, anti-gay attack against himself in downtown Chicago to get publicity.The jury is then expected to begin deliberating whether Smollett is guilty on six counts of a low-level felony for lying to Chicago police about the January 2019 attack.Taking the witness stand earlier this week, Smollett repeatedly denied the attack was a fake, telling

Jussie Smollett told a Chicago courtroom today that he was not only a victim of an attack on the streets of Chicago nearly three years ago, but a potential shakedown too.

Jussie Smollett will return to the witness stand Tuesday at his trial in Chicago, where the former “Empire” actor called claims that he staged an anti-gay, racist attack on himself “100 per cent false.”

Outside the courtroom where former "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett is fighting charges accusing him of lying to Chicago police about being the victim of an anti-gay, racist attack, his publicist has introduced a roster of supporters to the assembled TV cameras. Renowned opera singer Lauren Michelle, who also appeared on "Empire," spoke of how one of her best friends from high school has maintained his humanity despite the attacks on his character.

The Associated Press.In January 2019, Smollett told Chicago police he was assaulted late at night by two men yelling racist and homophobic slurs, wearing pro-Donald Trump apparel, leaving him with a noose around his neck.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media WriterJussie Smollett, the former “Empire” star, took the stand in a Chicago courtroom on Monday and denied that he staged a hate crime against himself nearly three years ago, according to local reports.Smollett, 39, walked the jury through his version of the events of Jan. 29, 2019, when he alleges he was attacked by two men who uttered homophobic and racist slurs and put a rope around his neck.