Jussie Smollett charges dropped amid claims of justice ‘whitewash’

Prosecutors drop charges accusing actor Jussie Smollett of staging a fake hate crime, sparking outrage from Chicago’s mayor.

Chicago prosecutors have dropped charges accusing Empire actor Jussie Smollett of staging a phoney hate crime, a stunning move that drew the fury of the city’s police superintendent and the mayor, who called the decision a “whitewash of justice”.

Smollett, who is black and gay, told reporters on Tuesday that he had always told the truth when he said two masked men threw a noose around his neck and poured chemicals on him while yelling racist and homophobic slurs and expressing support for US President Donald Trump in January.

But Mayor Rahm Emanuel lambasted the surprise reversal by Cook County prosecutors, emphasising that a grand jury concluded the attack was a hoax and hammering Smollett for claiming to be a victim.

“This is a whitewash of justice,” Emanuel told a news conference. “From top to bottom, this is not on the level.”

The case touched off a furore in the US, where Trump’s 2016 presidential victory has fuelled increasingly heated political divisions over race and sexual orientation.

Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said he had not known of prosecutors’ plans to drop the charges until an unexpected court hearing on Tuesday.

“Do I think justice was served? No,” Johnson told reporters. “I think this city is still owed an apology.”

Prosecutors could not immediately be reached for a response.

The Cook County State Attorney’s office said earlier on Tuesday that it viewed the outcome as a “just disposition” though prosecutors also said they stood by the initial decision to charge Smollett with filing a false report.

Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, right, and the city’s police superintendent Eddie Johnson, left. Picture: AP

Initial reports of the attack bolstered critics of the president who say his rhetoric has encouraged racial violence, and Smollett earned widespread sympathy from celebrities and some Democratic presidential candidates.

But police arrested Smollett on February 21, accusing the actor of paying two brothers $US3500 ($5000) to stage the attack in an effort to use the notoriety to advance his career.

The brothers, who were arrested after getting captured on surveillance footage near the site of the alleged assault, confessed to their role in Smollett’s plot and were released without charges, authorities said in February.

One of them had worked with Smollett on Empire, Fox’s hip-hop TV drama, according to police.

The charges against Smollett gave fresh ammunition to Trump’s supporters, who argue the press is too quick to embrace any news that casts the president in a negative light.

Smollett, who plays a gay musician on Empire, had pleaded not guilty to the charges against him on March 14.

His lawyers said the attack occurred as the actor described, calling him a “victim who was vilified and made to appear as a perpetrator”.

“I’ve been truthful and consistent on every single level since day one,” Smollett told reporters earlier on Tuesday outside a Chicago courthouse, where he posed for photos with supporters after a brief court hearing during which prosecutors abandoned the case.

With Gina Cherelus

Reuters