Actor Jussie Smollett has been arrested after he was charged with lying to police when he claimed he was attacked and beaten by two masked men shouting racist and homophobic slurs.
Smollett, a 36-year-old black, openly gay actor on the hip-hop TV drama Empire, ignited a firestorm on social media by telling police on January 29 that two apparent supporters of US President Donald Trump had struck him, put a noose around his neck and poured bleach over him.
Chicago Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said on Twitter on Thursday that Smollett was under arrest and in the custody of detectives.
The Cook County State's Attorney's Office approved felony criminal charges against Smollett for disorderly conduct and filing a false police report, Guglielmi said on Wednesday on Twitter.
Superintendent Eddie Johnson will hold a morning news conference and Smollett is expected to appear in court later on Thursday.
The 36-year-old actor was charged on Wednesday.
The charges could bring up to three years in prison. It could also force the actor to pay for the cost of the investigation into his report.
Australian Associated Press