January 29, 2019: Smollett told police that he was attacked at about 2 a.m. while returning home from the subway. He says his attackers were white or light-skinned, that they put a noose around his neck and shouted racial and homophobic insults.
Smollett, on police cam, shows police the noose around his neck that he claims his assailants put there
January 30: Details were leaked to the public and Smollett won huge support. The Chicago Police Department pledges to conduct a rapid investigation to find the attackers
February 2: Smollett opened a concert in West Hollywood, California, with an emotional speech, saying he had to play the show because he couldn’t let his attackers win.
February 13Unbeknownst to the public, Chicago Police Department investigators focused on the two brothers after reviewing surveillance footage from the night of the attack and Lyft and Uber records. They pick up the brothers at the airport on their return from Nigeria.
They were released without charge.
By then, stories had been leaked from the Chicago Police Department that some suspected Smollett of lying.
February 14Jussie Smollett appeared on Good Morning America to protest in tears that he was telling the truth.
Robin Roberts showed him surveillance footage from the night of the attack and says emphatically that it was the men who showed up who attacked him
February 19: Cook County District Attorney Kim Fox disavows herself from the case due to her connection to the Smollett family
February 20: Smollett accused of filing false police report
February 21: Smollett surrenders to the police but maintains his innocence
February 22: Smollett has been removed from the Empire
March 7: A grand jury has returned a 16-count indictment accusing Smollett of repeatedly lying to police
March 26: The charges against Smollett were largely dropped. The decision angered the public
March 28: The city of Chicago says it will sue Smollett for $140,000 in lost police resources
April 23: Abel and Ola Osondaero sued Smollett’s lawyer who called them liars on TV
August 23: Former US Attorney Dan Webb appointed as special prosecutor to investigate why charges against Smollett were dropped
February 11, 2020: Smollett was indicted by a grand jury on six felony counts of lying to the police
February 24, 2020: Smollett pleads not guilty
November 29, 2021: After an 18-month hiatus due to the impact of COVID-19 on the courts, the Smollett trial has finally begun in Chicago
December 6, 2021: Smollett testifies at trial, insisting he’s telling the truth
December 9: Smollett was convicted of five of six counts of lying to the police
March 10, 2022: Judgment on Smollett
