Jussie Smollett Officially Named a Suspect For Filing False Police Report After Chicago Attack

Jussie Smollett has officially been named a suspect for in a criminal investigation for filing a false police report after his January attack.

The Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi confirmed the news on Wednesday afternoon.

"Jussie Smollett is now officially classified as a suspect in a criminal investigation by #ChicagoPolice for filing a false police report (Class 4 felony),"Guglielmi wrote on Twitter. "Detectives are currently presenting evidence before a Cook County Grand Jury."

Jussie is currently a star on the FOX show, Empire.

Smollett filed a police report on January 29th alleging that he had been attacked by two masked men who hurled racist and homophobic slurs at him after leaving a Subway sandwich shop in Chicago around 2 am that morning.

Smollett alleged that the men beat him and poured bleach over him. The black actor who is also openly gay alleged that the attackers put a noose around his neck.

The crime was investigated as a "possible hate crime" by local authorities.

Two brothers were questioned on February 13, they have since been released from custody. CBS Chicago reported that those men are no longer suspects in the case, and they are cooperating with the investigation.

Sources with the Chicago police department say that Smollett may have paid those two men to stage an assault. Some speculate the actor was upset that a threatening letter he received a week prior did not get enough attention.