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Smollett is accused of orchestrating a fake hate crime attack against himself in downtown Chicago in January 2019.

Smollett, formerly of the TV series Empire — has been found guilty of lying to police about an anti-gay, racist attack on himself in 2019. The 39-year-old actor faces up to three years in prison.

The former Empire actor is accused of lying to Chicago police about being the purported victim of a hate crime in Jan. 2019. He is charged with six counts of felony disorderly conduct.

An appeals court upheld the disorderly conduct convictions of the "Empire" actor, who was accused of staging a racist, homophobic attack against himself in 2019 and lying about it to Chicago police.

A judge in Illinois' Cook County says a special prosecutor should review the case "to restore the public's confidence in the integrity of our criminal justice system."

The actor was arrested Thursday for filing a false police report. Now, it appears the role that made him famous may be in doubt. Empire producers said they chose to "avoid further disruption on set."

The ongoing Smollett drama, centering around an alleged faked hate crime against the actor, has opened a fresh chapter. A special prosecutor in Cook County has announced a six-count indictment.

The former Empire actor was convicted on five felony counts of lying to police, but he has maintained that he did not stage the 2019 attack in which he claimed to be the victim.

A lot has happened in roughly two months — from the Empire actor's initial police report in Chicago to prosecutors' decision to drop the charges against him. Here's a brief history of the key dates.

Chicago police say the Empire actor faked the January assault, and now he faces the prospect of prison time.

Jurors convicted the Empire actor on five of the six felony disorderly conduct charges he faced. The verdict was announced days after Smollett testified that "there was no hoax."

The Empire actor has been released on bail after being arrested on charges of making a false police report. Officials say he paid two men to fake an attack on him to "further his own public profile."

The star of the Fox drama was reportedly assaulted Tuesday in downtown Chicago. His attackers are said to have poured a chemical substance on him and wrapped a rope around his neck.

The actor had reported being the victim of a racist and homophobic attack. Prosecutors say that report was not true.

Smollett told Chicago police officers in January of 2019 that he was attacked by two people who yelled racist and homophobic slurs at him. He's now accused of filing a false police report.

The document dump Thursday offers a detailed view of the case that investigators had crafted against the Empire actor, only to see prosecutors to drop those charges in a move that frustrated police.

The Empireactor was accused of filing a false report of a hate crime. Now, the decision to drop the charges has exposed a stark fault line between Chicago authorities and state and county officials.

In the messages, Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx expresses concern with heavy-handed charging of Empire star Jussie Smollett, compared to other defendants accused of more serious crimes.

Fair warning: There are questions we just can't answer at this point. But there are also plenty we can. Here's an attempt to explain the charges against the Empire actor — and the move to drop them.

In an interview with WBEZ, Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx explains why her office suddenly dropped charges against the actor.