Jussie Smollett’s legal team issued a defiant statement on Thursday night, saying the “Empire” actor feels betrayed by the justice system and hinting at a political motive for his prosecution. Smollett was arrested early Thursday on a felony charge of filing a false police report. He was released after a court hearing on $100,000 bond, walking past a scrum of cameras as he returned to the set of “Empire.” “Today we witnessed an organized law enforcement spectacle that has no place in the American legal system. The presumption of innocence, a bedrock in the search for justice, was trampled upon at the expense of Mr. Smollett and notably, on the eve of a Mayoral election. Mr. Smollett is a young man of impeccable character and integrity who fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence and feels betrayed by a system that apparently wants to skip due process and proceed directly to sentencing.” Smollett could face one to three years in prison if convicted of staging a hate attack on himself on Jan. 29. Police claim that he paid two brothers $3,500 to attack him, pour bleach on him, and put a rope around his neck. Fox has issued several statements in support of the actor, and he resumed work on “Empire” Thursday despite reports that the network was considering suspending him.<doc-sep>Attorneys for Empire actor Jussie Smollett said Thursday evening that Chicago law enforcement “trampled” upon his “presumption of innocence” after arresting their client for allegedly filing a false police report concerning a racist and homophobic attack against himself last month. “Today we witnessed an organized law enforcement spectacle that has no place in the American legal system,” the statement via Smollett’s legal team reads. “The presumption of innocence, a bedrock in the search for justice, was trampled upon at the expense of Mr. Smollett and notably, on the eve of a Mayoral election.” The attorneys went on to say Smollett is a “young man of impeccable character and integrity” who vehemently denies any wrongdoing. They also said the actor feels “betrayed by a system that apparently wants to skip due process.” Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson took it personally when detectives determined that Smollett allegedly lied about being the victim of a racist and homophobic attack . Speaking Thursday at a news conference, Johnson said he was angry and offended that another black man would exploit racial divisions for his own gain — and smear the reputation of a city Johnson has worked his entire career to protect. “I know the racial divide that exists here. I know how hard it’s been for our city and our nation to come together. And I also know the disparities and I know the history,” Johnson told reporters. ”‘Empire’ actor Jussie Smollett took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career.” Police said Smollett planned the hoax because he was unhappy with his acting salary and wanted to promote his career. Before the attack, he also sent a letter that threatened him to the Chicago studio where Empire is shot, police said. The actor “took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career,” police, Johnson said. “This publicity stunt was a scar that Chicago didn’t earn and certainly didn’t deserve,” he added. Smollett, who is black and gay, told police he was physically attacked by two men who shouted homophobic and racial slurs at him before beating him up and throwing some kind of chemical on him the early morning of January 29. He also said his attackers shouted, “This is MAGA country,” an apparent reference to President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again,” and looped a rope around his neck. However, his story fell apart when brothers Abimbola Osundairo and Olabinjo Osundairo — bodybuilders and aspiring actors who Smollett knew from the “Empire” set and the gym — told police that Smollett paid them $3,500 to stage the attack because he was unhappy about his salary and wanted to promote his career. Jussie Smollett was arrested Thursday morning and appeared in court later that day. A judge set his bond at $100,000. Meanwhile, Smollett was back on the Chicago set of Empire after posting bail Thursday and pleaded with castmates to believe that he did not orchestrate the assault. “I’m sorry I’ve put you all through this and not answered any calls. I wanted to say I’m sorry and, you know me, I would never do this to any of you, you are my family. I swear to God, I did not do this,” he told them, TMZ reports. The Associated Press contributed to this report.<doc-sep>Jussie Smollett attends a special event for the television series Empire in 2016. (Mario Anzuoni/Reuters) Jussie Smollett, the Trump-despising star of television’s Empire who has said he was attacked by two guys yelling a pro-Trump slogan, has now hired the lawyer for Trump’s lawyer to defend him in any criminal matters that may emerge from what he claims is a vicious January 29 attack. Michael Monico, a former federal prosecutor who has been representing Michael Cohen during the latter’s legal troubles, said on a Chicago radio show that he was now representing Smollett. Advertisement Meanwhile, two African-American brothers, U.S. citizens from Nigeria who, according to their lawyer, are friends of Smollett and work out at Smollett’s gym (and one of whom has appeared on Empire), were held by police this week but released after 48 hours of questioning without charge. (The police didn’t identify them but several media outlets reported their names and what their lawyer said about them.) Something they said has apparently given the police hope of solving the case. Local Fox32 News reporter Rafer Weigel, who has been following the case closely, reported on Twitter that his police sources were able to prove that the brothers purchased the rope that was taken into evidence after it was used in the alleged assault on Smollett. “The brothers agreed to cooperate with police who are investigating whether Smollett made up the story after police threatened to charge them with battery,” Weigel wrote, adding, “There are unconfirmed reports that Smollett paid the two brothers to perform the alleged scheme.” The two men held without charge by police are the same two men seen in the vicinity of Smollett at the approximate time of the attack on a previously released surveillance video. Smollett said on Good Morning America this week that he was certain those two men are the ones who attacked him. The reason the brothers were near Smollett on the night in question is now central to the investigation and we can’t get into that at this time,” Chicago Police told ABC News. They also said the information gleaned from the two men questioned “could change the story entirely.” Advertisement A Chicago police spokesman has continued to maintain that Smollett is not considered a suspect and that he is considered a victim of a potential crime. Which raises a question: Why would the victim of a brutal attack hire a criminal-defense attorney? Why would he need a lawyer at all? Something to Consider If you enjoyed this article, we have a proposition for you: Join NRPLUS. Members get all of our content (including the magazine), no paywalls or content meters, an advertising-minimal experience, and unique access to our writers and editors (through conference calls, social media groups, and more). And importantly, NRPLUS members help keep NR going. 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Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window) Jussie Smollett’s lawyers maintained Thursday that he has “impeccable character and integrity” and was “betrayed” by the legal system, despite mounting evidence from authorities that the actor staged a hate attack on himself. “Today we witnessed an organized law enforcement spectacle that has no place in the American legal system,” Smollett’s lawyers said. “The presumption of innocence, a bedrock, in the search for justice, was trampled upon at the expense of Mr. Smollett and notably on the eve of a mayoral election.” The statement goes on to say that the 36-year-old TV actor “fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence and feels betrayed by a system that apparently wants to skip due process and proceed directly to sentencing.” The “Empire” star — charged with staging a hate crime and filing a false police report about it, claiming he was the victim — was released on $100,000 bond Thursday. Earlier Thursday, Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson blasted Smollett and said the actor staged the Jan. 29 attack because he was not satisfied with his salary. “This announcement today recognized ‘Empire’ actor Jussie Smollett took advantage of the pain and anger and racism to promote his career,” Johnson said. “I’m left hanging my head and asking why? Why would anyone, especially an African-American man, use the symbolism of a noose to make false accusations? How could someone look at the hatred and suffering associated with that symbol and see an opportunity to manipulate that symbol to further his own public profile?”