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A Cook County Grand jury indicted Jussie Smollett on 16 felony counts on Thursday.
NBC Chicago 5 reports that the charges arrive in connection with the actor's alleged false reports of a recent hate crime. The new indictments come less than one month after local authorities charged Smollett for filing a false police report.
CBS Chicago notes that each count against Smollett pertains to "separate alleged acts that Smollett falsely described to the officers."
Police shifted their investigation weeks after Smollett accounted to local police that he was the victim of a hate crime in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago in January. The actor alleged that attackers tied a noose around his neck and were shouting "this is MAGA country" while dousing the actor with an unknown liquid.
