According to a report by the Chicago Police Department, Jussie Smollett allegedly planned his own attack, alongside his friends who are equally his gym partners who have been identified as brothers and Nigerians.
The Police arrived at this conclusion following the arrest of the two brothers suspected to have carried out the alleged homophobic and racial attack on the producer and Empire actor.The men were arrested on Wednesday but released without charges by Friday, after Chicago police cited the discovery of “new evidence.”
The actor Jussie Smollett as we reported a few days ago, was reportedly attacked by two unidentified men who put a rope around his neck and poured bleach on his face, while also yelling racial and homophobic slurs at him.
The attack on the Hollywood actor was generally condemned and a few days later, Police arrested the suspects who allegedly attacked him, and surprisingly, the suspects turned out to be two black brothers and not white as initially suspected by virtually everyone that condemned the attack, and even Jussie himself!
After an investigation, Police gave the names of suspects as Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo, were later released 48 hours after their initial arrest.
TMZ reported that the brothers are friends of Jussie Smollett and also worked on the “Empire” set, and completely cooperated with Chicago Police during their interrogation over the last few days.
TMZ report also claimed that at least one of the brothers turned over his phone and there is a call between him and Jussie in the vicinity of the “attack,” but before it happened.
CNN reported that the brothers purchased what looks like the rope Jussie had around his neck at a Chicago Ace Hardware store. CNN is also citing law enforcement sources saying Jussie paid the brothers to orchestrate the phony assault.
“At the present time, Jussie and his attorneys have no inclination to respond to ‘unnamed’ sources inside of the investigation, but will continue discussions through official channels,” the statement read.
The Chicago Police Department spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi had said this to Variety on the investigation saying:
“We can confirm that the information received from the individuals questioned by police earlier in the Empire case has in fact shifted the trajectory of the investigation,”
“We’ve reached out to the Empire cast member’s attorney to request a follow-up interview.”
“The new direction of the investigation is now based on the premise that Mr. Smollett was an active participant in the incident,” the report said.