CHICAGO — A grand jury has returned 16 federal counts against “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett for falsely reporting a hate crime against him.
According to WBBM-TV, Smollett is scheduled to be arraigned March 14. The charges are Class 4 felonies.
The Cook County grand jury indictment filed Thursday charges him with falsely reporting an offense.
Smollett was charged in February with making a false police report when he said he was attacked in downtown Chicago by two men who hurled racist and anti-gay slurs and looped a rope around his neck, police said.
Police said he recruited the two men to stage the attack because he was upset with his pay on the Fox show. Smollett has denied playing a role in the attack.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.