WENN

Jussie Smollett has been arrested for allegedly filing a false police report claiming he was the victim of a hate crime.

The Empire actor hit the headlines at the end of January after claiming two masked white men had hurled racial and homophobic slurs at him as they beat him up, pouring a bleach-like liquid on him, and tying a noose rope around his neck outside his Chicago apartment.

However, after questioning "potential suspects" Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo, detectives began investigating whether Smollett paid them to stage the attack, and in the early hours of Thursday morning, Chicago Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi announced via Twitter that the 36-year-old had been arrested and was in custody.

The actor is due in court for a bond hearing at 1:30 p.m local time on Thursday.

The news comes a day after Guglielmi confirmed Smollett had been officially named as a suspect for filing a false police report and that "Detectives are currently presenting evidence before a Cook County Grand Jury."

He subsequently revealed that the Cook County State's Attorney's Office had approved felony criminal charges of Disorderly Conduct and Filing a False Police Report. He tweeted, "Detectives will make contact with his legal team to negotiate a reasonable surrender for his arrest."

After he was charged, the actor's attorneys Todd Pugh and Victor Henderson issued a statement which read, "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. Given these circumstances, we intend to conduct a thorough investigation and to mount an aggressive defense."

If he is convicted of filing a false police report, Smollett faces up to three years behind bars.

The Osundairo brothers are no longer being treated as suspects.