<p class="title">"Empire" star Jussie Smollett has been indicted by a grand jury on 16 counts of disorderly conduct.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The charges stem from a January 29 incident where Smollett, 36, had claimed that he was attacked by two men while leaving a restaurant in Chicago.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The actor, who is openly gay, alleged that the suspects, one of whom was wearing a red Make America Great Again hat, shouted racial and homophobic slurs before they attacked him.</p>.<p class="bodytext">After an investigation, the authorities said Smollett falsely reported to the police that he had been attacked by two men.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The actor was previously charged in a criminal complaint with felony disorderly conduct, involving lying to police. The crime carries a felony charge, and if Smollett is found guilty he could face up to three years in prison and up to USD 25,000 in fines.</p>.<p class="bodytext">According to Variety, a Cook County grand jury returned a more thorough indictment on Friday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Eight of the charges involve false statements given to Officer Muhammed Baig, while the other eight pertain to a more detailed account given to Detective Kim Murray.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Jussie Smollett knew that at the time... there was no reasonable ground for believing that such offenses had been committed," stated the indictment.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Police believes that Smollett had paid the two suspect, Ola and Abel Osundairo, USD 3,500 to stage the attack.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Smollett's potential role in the alleged attack emerged after reports stated that he was not cooperating with the police.</p>
<p class="title">"Empire" star Jussie Smollett has been indicted by a grand jury on 16 counts of disorderly conduct.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The charges stem from a January 29 incident where Smollett, 36, had claimed that he was attacked by two men while leaving a restaurant in Chicago.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The actor, who is openly gay, alleged that the suspects, one of whom was wearing a red Make America Great Again hat, shouted racial and homophobic slurs before they attacked him.</p>.<p class="bodytext">After an investigation, the authorities said Smollett falsely reported to the police that he had been attacked by two men.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The actor was previously charged in a criminal complaint with felony disorderly conduct, involving lying to police. The crime carries a felony charge, and if Smollett is found guilty he could face up to three years in prison and up to USD 25,000 in fines.</p>.<p class="bodytext">According to Variety, a Cook County grand jury returned a more thorough indictment on Friday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Eight of the charges involve false statements given to Officer Muhammed Baig, while the other eight pertain to a more detailed account given to Detective Kim Murray.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Jussie Smollett knew that at the time... there was no reasonable ground for believing that such offenses had been committed," stated the indictment.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Police believes that Smollett had paid the two suspect, Ola and Abel Osundairo, USD 3,500 to stage the attack.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Smollett's potential role in the alleged attack emerged after reports stated that he was not cooperating with the police.</p>