Chicago Sues Jussie Smollet for Money Spent on Investigation

By Tiarra Mukherjee Apr 12, 2019

The city of Chicago is suing Jussie Smollet for the cost of investigating the alleged hate crime attack against him. The city filed a civil suit against the actor in the Circuit Court of Cook’s County yesterday (April 11)  for roughly $130,000 plus legal fees, the cap amount allowed under Chicago’s false statement ordinance, the  Los Angeles Times reported.

The action cites Smollett’s “refusal to reimburse the City of Chicago for the cost of police overtime spent investigating his false police report on January 29, 2019,” according to a statement obtained by The Times.

The lawsuit is the latest in a rollercoaster of events that began with Smollet reporting a racist and homophobic attack against him in January. Several weeks later, the Chicago Police Department claimed Smollet staged the attack to benefit his career, which led to the actor’s arrest and a 16-count indictment for filing a false police report. The charges were dropped by the Cook’s County DA’s office last month, with Smollet’s record wiped clean. 

Smollet and his attorneys have yet to comment. However, on April 5, ABC News released a statement from his lawyer, Mark Geragos, responding to the city’s threats to sue, calling it “a course of conduct intended to harass and irreparably injure Mr. Smollet” and deeming the charges “unconstitutional.”