American actor Jussie Smollet risk facing a jail term following Chicago city council plot to file a civil lawsuit against him.
According to AP news, Smollett refused to pay for investigation costs conducted by the city police, following 16 felony counts the actor was charged with.
The decision by the Illinois State Prosecutor to drop charges against the Empire Actor elicited mixed reactions, with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel calling it a ‘whitewashed justice’.
Emanuel and Chicago PD Superintendent alleged that the actor could have brokered a deal with the prosecutor to have the case dropped.
Smollet reported to the police that two men attacked him yelling racial and homophobic epithets in January, a report which prompted investigations, with police concluding that he had given false report.
The actor was therefore charged with 16 felony counts, which could have led to a 48-year-imprisonment term.
The actor has since denied striking a deal with the prosecution, who claims that the case against him was dropped after they found no criminal record attached to him.
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