Jussie Smollett Under Arrest Following Felony Charge in Alleged Hate Crime Hoax Case

The actor and musician was charged with felony disorderly conduct on Wednesday, following his Jan. 29 alleged attack.

Jussie Smollett has been taken into custody. 

The 35-year-old actor has surrendered after being charged with felony disorderly conduct for allegedly filing a false police report when he claimed that he was attacked by two masked men on Jan. 29, ET confirms with a Chicago Police spokesperson. He faces up to three years in prison. 

Tom Ahern, the Deputy Director of News Affairs and Communications for the Chicago Police Department, tweeted the news on Thursday morning. 

"UPDATE: Chicago Police Detectives take #Empire actor #JussieSmollett into custody to face Class 4 Felony charge (punishable for up to 3yrs in prison) for Disorderly Conduct in Falsifying Police report. Bond Hearing scheduled for 1:30 pm [CT] in Cook Country Criminal Court. #ChicagoPolice," read the message.

Anthony Guglielmi, Chief Communications Officer for the CPD, also tweeted the news. "Jussie Smollet is under arrest and in custody of detectives," he wrote. "At 9am [CT] at #ChicagoPolice Headquarters, Supt Eddie Johnson, Commander of Area Central Detectives Edward Wodnicki will brief reporters on the investigation prior to the defendants appearance in court."

His mug shot was later released.

Chicago Police Department

According to CBS News Chicago reporter Charlie De Mar, Smollett "made arrangements to turn himself in" on Wednesday night, "away from cameras."

De Mar said police told him that the actor has "made no statement" to them as of yet, but was being processed -- getting finger prints taken and a mug shot -- before going to court. 

On Wednesday evening, Guglielmi revealed the charge against Smollett on Twitter, sharing that detectives were attempting to negotiate a reasonable surrender for Smollett's arrest. A bond court hearing was set for 1:30 p.m. on Thursday. 

Smollett's lawyers, Todd Pugh and Victor Henderson, told ET at the time: "Like any other citizen, Mr. Smollett enjoys the presumption of innocence, particularly when there has been an investigation like this one where information, both true and false, has been repeatedly leaked. Given these circumstances, we intend to conduct a thorough investigation and to mount an aggressive defense."

CBS News reported on Saturday that Nigerian brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo -- who were previously arrested last week and then released without charges -- claimed to police after their home was raided that Smollett knows them and further alleged that the actor "paid them to participate in the alleged attack." Smollett has vehemently denied this accusation through his lawyers. According to the brothers' attorney, Ola worked as an extra on Empire in season two, while Abel was Smollett's personal trainer. 

Also on Wednesday, Guglielmi shared that Smollett was classified as a suspect in the case, following the Chicago Police Department's weeks-long investigation. Just hours later, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office approved a felony charge against the Empire star for disorderly conduct. 

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