Jussie Smollett is arrested for filing a false police report on racism and homophobia
Jussie Smollett was taken into police custody on charges of filing a false police report and disorderly conduct early on Thursday morning.
The 36-year-old Empire actor is scheduled to appear in bond court at 1.30pm CT.
Late on Wednesday night, Smollett was charged for allegedly staging the January 29 attack and then lying repeatedly to police about it after Nigerian brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo testified against him before a grand jury.
They say Smollett paid them to carry out the attack and that he also sent a threatening letter to himself a week earlier.
Smollett insists he is innocent and has condemned the police's handling of his case.
20th Century Fox, which released a statement hours before he was charged to say it was standing by him, is now reportedly suspending the actor.
A press conference was scheduled for 9am CT during which detectives will give more details about the arrest. It is not yet known where he was or what time he was taken into custody.
In a statement to DailyMail.com on Wednesday night, Smollett's attorneys said that he would vigorously contest the charges.
'Like any other citizen, Mr. Smollett enjoys the presumption of innocence, particularly when there has been an investigation like this one where information, both true and false, has been repeatedly leaked,' attorneys Todd Pugh and Victor Henderson said.
'Given these circumstances, we intend to conduct a thorough investigation and to mount an aggressive defense.'
The Osundairo brothers testified before the grand jury for about two and a half hours on Wednesday.