"Empire" actor Jussie Smollett has turned himself in to face accusations that he filed a false police report when he told authorities he was attacked in Chicago by two men who hurled racist and anti-gay slurs and looped a rope around his neck.
Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson says he doesn't understand how anyone, especially a black man, could use the symbol of a noose to make false accusations.
Johnson held a news conference Thursday morning to brief reporters on the investigation that he says shows Smollett filed a false police report last month.
Johnson says the bogus police reports harms "every legitimate victim who's in need of support'' and every resident of the city.
The whispers about Smollett's account started with reports that he had not fully co-operated with police after telling authorities he was attacked.
Then detectives in a city bristling with surveillance cameras could not find video of the beating.
Later, two brothers were taken into custody for questioning but were released after two days, with police saying they were no longer suspects.
Following three weeks of mounting suspicions, Smollett was charged Wednesday with felony disorder conduct, a charge that could bring up to three years in prison and force the actor, who is black and gay, to pay for the cost of the investigation into his report of a Jan. 29 beating.
In less than a month, the 36-year-old changed from being the seemingly sympathetic victim of a hate crime to being accused of fabricating the entire thing.
In a statement, attorneys Todd Pugh and Victor Henderson said 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."
The announcement of the charges followed a flurry of activity in recent days, including lengthy police interviews of the brothers, a search of their home and their release after officers cleared them.
Investigators have not said what the brothers told detectives or what evidence detectives collected. But it became increasingly clear that serious questions had arisen about Smollett's account -- something police signalled Friday when they announced a "significant shift in the trajectory" of the probe after the brothers were freed.
Smollett, who plays a gay character on the hit Fox television show "Empire," said he was attacked Jan. 29 as he was walking home from a downtown Subway sandwich shop.
He said the masked men beat him, made derogatory comments and yelled "This is MAGA country" -- an apparent reference to President Donald Trump's campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again" -- before fleeing.
Earlier Wednesday, Fox Entertainment and 20th Century Fox Television issued a statement saying Smollett "continues to be a consummate professional on set" and that his character is not being written off the show. The series is shot in Chicago and follows a black family as they navigate the ups and downs of the recording industry.
The studio's statement followed reports that Smollett's role was being slashed amid the police investigation.
Smollett has been active in LBGTQ issues, and initial reports of the assault drew outrage and support for him on social media, including from Sen. Kamala Harris of California and TV talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.