Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, who’d verbally recused herself from the Jussie Smollett case, has received several death threats following her office’s decision to dismiss charges against “Empire” actor for allegedly faking a late-night assault against himself.
Foxx’s office did not offer specific details about the threats, but staffers said they included “racially charged language,” according to a statement Monday.
“We can confirm that the State’s Attorney has received threats to her personal safety and security, a number of which have contained racially charged language,” the office told Chicago’s ABC News affiliate WLS.
The announcement came less than a week after the office released more than 3,800 pages worth of emails and text messages, including some where Foxx referred to the 36-year-old Smollett as a “washed up celeb who lied to cops.”
Smollett was indicted on 16 counts after allegedly lying to Chicago police about being attacked in a hate crime earlier this year.
