It's a stunning turn of events. At an emergency court hearing held Tuesday morning, all charges against Empire actor Jussie Smollett were dropped. Smollet's attorneys issued a statement saying that his record had been "wiped clean:"
"Jussie was attacked by two people he was unable to identify on January 29th. He was a victim who was vilified and made to appear as a perpetrator as a result of false and inappropriate remarks made to the public causing an inappropriate rush to judgement."
Smollett was accused of staging a hate crime against himself and had been indicted on 16 felony counts.
We'll have more to come on this breaking story.
(Mug Shot: Chicago PD)
For what it's worth, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is calling the dismissal of charges a "whitewash" of justice.