Jussie Smollett, 36, was criminally charged on Wednesday night in Chicago for filing fake police report just hours after surveillance footage emerged of the Nigerian brothers in alleged ‘attack’ buying black ski masks and a red hat

He is charged with filing a false police report, a Class 4 felony after Video of them buying ski masks and red hat day before the attack has emerged

Cook County State’s Attorney approved charges after grand jury indicted, cops say that he hoaxed a hate crime assault on himself on January 29

Brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, former ‘persons of interest’, but now cooperating with investigators were earlier seen entering grand jury

Video emerged of the brothers buying items used in the alleged assault – ski masks and a red hat – a day before the attack 

Smollett, who has hired a team of lawyers, denies that he made up his story with his attorneys saying he ‘enjoys the presumption of innocence’ in the case

If convicted, the charges carry a maximum sentence of three years and a fine of up to $25,000

Feds also still investigating hate mail that Smollett claimed he received

Abel, who was dressed in a blue plaid jacket, put his hood up 30 seconds into it and then got out his phone. He appeared to type and swipe through photographs

In the video taken inside the store the day earlier, the brothers look calm in the video as they bring the items to the register.
Abel is dressed in a blue plaid jacket. About 30 seconds into the video, he puts his hood up while standing at the register. His younger brother Ola, who once appeared on Empire as an extra, is in a green jacket.
Once they had dumped their haul on the register, they looked at one another and waited to be served.
They stand and watch as the cashier bags up their items which included gloves, bobble hats and sunglasses.
Abel put his gloves on to leave the store and he paid cash for everything.
As they waited for the items to be bagged up, Abel got out his phone and appeared to be typing and looking through images.
He and Ola maintained conversation throughout.

Abel paid cash for the haul and his brother, who was wearing a purple bandanna, spoke to him as they stood at the cash register

 Abel put on his gloves before he left the store. The video was taken a day before the alleged incident

The brothers walked out with two separate bags.  The day after the attack, they fled to Nigeria 

The brothers were picked up by police at Chicago O’Hare Airport on Wednesday night as they returned from Nigeria. They had flown there on January 29, hours after Smollett reported the attack and a day after they were filmed in the store.
While in police custody last week, they reportedly told police Smollett paid them $3,500 to carry out the attack and that he also told them where to buy the rope that was put around his neck.
That was purchased in a separate store, according to police sources.
The video was shared on Wednesday as Smollett’s attorneys met with prosecutors and police in Chicago.
Smollett, who claims he did not know his attackers and that it was a racist and homophobic ambush, maintains he was telling the truth.

Planned hoax: The brothers said Smollett also sent himself this letter to the Fox studio a week before the attack  

 Days after the attack Chicago PD released this still [image] captured by CCTV on the day of the attack allegedly showing brothers Abel and Ola on the night of the incident.
For weeks, they did not know who they were but they honed in on the pair after tracking ride-sharing information from the night and the area.

Frustrated with the coverage of his case, he hit out at the media for reporting on leaked information coming from within the Chicago police department and insisted he was the victim.
He then went on Good Morning America to protest his innocence.
In an hour-long interview with Robin Roberts, he wept as he recalled the attack and abhorred the reaction to it.
Choking back tears, he explained when asked why it took so long for him to contact the authorities: ‘There is a level of pride there. We live in a society where as a gay man you are considered somehow to be weak and I am not weak. I am not weak and we as a people are not weak.’
Later, he added how desperate he was for them to find footage of the attack.
‘I want that video found so badly because, for probably four reasons. ‘Number one, I want them to find the people that did it.
‘Number two, I want them to stop being able to say ‘alleged’ attack.
‘Number three,  I want them to see that I fought back,’ he continued, welling-up.
‘I want a little gay boy who might watch this to see that I fought the f*** back. They ran off,’ I didn’t,’ he said.
After it emerged that Smollett knew the brothers and may have been involved in the staging of the attack, the celebrities and politicians who rushed to support him walked back their claims.