Actor Jussie Smollett maintains that he is innocent after he was indicted by a grand jury on 16 counts Friday (March 8, 2019).

According to People, his attorney, Mark Geragos, issued a statement to them exclusively, “This redundant and vindictive indictment is nothing more than a desperate attempt to make headlines in order to distract from the internal investigation launched to investigate the outrageous leaking of false information by the Chicago Police Department and the shameless and illegal invasion of Jussie’s privacy in tampering with his medical records,” Geragos said, adding, “Jussie adamantly maintains his innocence even if law enforcement has robbed him of that presumption.”

If you remember, the Empire actor stated to police that he was attacked in downtown Chicago on January 29 when he left a Subways restaurant at 2 am. The attackers, later identified as brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo, beat him and yelled out racial and homophobic slurs. They also placed a noose around his neck, wet him in an “unknown substance” and told him that he was in “MAGA country.”

The attackers were then questioned by police and they gave a statement that the attack was planned by Smollett and that they were paid $3,500.

Smollett was then arrested on February 20 and posted bail. According to authorities, Smollett paid the men to stage the hate crime attack against so that he could draw attention to himself because he was dissatisfied with his salary.

At the hearing, text messages between Smollett and the Osundairo brothers detailed how the 45-second attack was to be allegedly orchestrated were read in court.

See how folks on Twitter showed their support to the singer:

If Smollett is found guilty of falsifying a police report, which is a Class 4 felony, he could face up to three years in prison.

Jussie is scheduled to head back to court for arraignment on March 14.