JUST IN: Jussie Smollett Charged With FELONY!

From CNN:

A charge of disorderly conduct has been approved against "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett, according to an email from the Cook County State's Attorney's Office. 

Filing a false police report is disorderly conduct, according to Illinois code. 

Disorderly conduct is a class 4 felony, the State's Attorney Office says. 

A bail hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. CT Thursday.

[Previous story, published at 7:58 p.m. ET]

"Empire" actor Jussie Smollett was "officially classified" a suspect in a criminal investigation Wednesday for allegedly filing a false police report, according to a tweet from Chicago police spokesman Officer Anthony Guglielmi.

A Cook County grand jury was hearing evidence just weeks after the young actor reported being the victim of a hate crime on January 29, the police spokesman said. Filing a false police report is a Class 4 felony. 

Smollett's transformation from victim to suspect in a reported crime that captured national headlines came on the same day that a high-ranking police source said Chicago detectives were working to obtain the actor's financial records. 

Investigators also have sought to ask the actor additional questions about the attack. 

CNN has reached out to Smollett's attorneys for comment.

And from local ABC7:

"Empire" actor Jussie Smollett has been charged with one count of felony disorderly conduct for filing a false police report, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office said Wednesday evening.

Smollett is due in court in Chicago at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said CPD detectives will make contact with Smollett's legal team to "negotiate a reasonable surrender for his arrest."

Smollett is not in custody at this time. Twentieth Century Fox Television and Fox Entertainment said they have no comment at this time.

Guglielmi said CPD detectives presented evidence before a Cook County grand jury Wednesday. The grand jury returned an indictment shortly before 7 p.m.

Wednesday evening ABC7 Eyewitness News obtained surveillance video of the Osundairo brothers linked to the reported attack from a beauty supply shop.

Wednesday evening ABC7 Eyewitness News obtained surveillance video of the Osundairo brothers linked to the reported attack from a beauty supply shop. The video shows the brothers purchasing items possibly used in the case.

Employees at Beauty House in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood said the brothers came to the business the day before the alleged attack, and a security guard said he remembers the siblings because they purchased ski masks.

Meanwhile, according to the Hollywood Reporter, Fox still refuses to write Smollett out of the show Empire:

The statement comes after rumors that the 36-year-old actor, who plays Jamal Lyon on the Fox drama, was having his workload cut.

Jussie Smollett has received renewed support from the makers of Empire.

Fox, which airs the series, and Empire producer 20th Century Fox TV said they stand by the actor's on-set conduct. Smollett is at the center of questions about an attack he reported in the early hours of Jan. 29 in Chicago.

"Jussie Smollett continues to be a consummate professional on set and as we have previously stated, he is not being written out of the show," the network and studio said in a statement Tuesday.

The statement comes after rumors that the 36-year-old Smollett, who plays Jamal Lyon on the Fox drama, was having his workload cut. A TMZ story stated that was set to appear in a few scenes with other members of the show's ensemble this week, but others featuring him more heavily had reportedly been cut from the schedule. 

Fox, 20th and Smollett's reps all declined to comment on whether his workload had been reduced. A source told The Hollywood Reporter that the plan for Smollett's character is in flux while the investigation continues.

The network and studio have been steadfastly behind Smollett during the investigation. When rumors that Smollett might be written out of Empire first surfaced, Fox and 20th called the idea "patently ridiculous. He remains a core player on this very successful series and we continue to stand behind him."

Smollett said two men assaulted him, used racial and homophobic slurs and put a rope around his neck early on Jan. 29. Chicago police investigating the case say the course of their probe has shifted and that two people they questioned were released without charges after "new evidence" came to light.

Reports that Smollett and the two men questioned by police may have staged the attack surfaced soon after, supposedly because he was being written off of Empire. Through his lawyers, the actor vehemently denied the reports: "He has now been further victimized by claims attributed to these alleged perpetrators that Jussie played a role in his own attack," attorneys Todd S. Pugh and Victor P. Henderson said in a statement. "Nothing is further from the truth and anyone claiming otherwise is lying."