CHICAGO POLICE PROBE HOAX THEORY IN EMPIRE ACTOR’S ATTACK.
Chicago police are investigating a tip that on the night Empire actor Jussie Smollett reported being attacked by two masked men, he was in an elevator of his apartment building with two brothers later arrested and released from custody in the probe, a police spokesman told The Associated Press Tuesday.
Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the person who lives in the building or was visiting someone there reported seeing the three together the night in question last month. Smollett said two masked men hurled racial and homophobic slurs at him, beat him and looped a rope around his neck.
Guglielmi says police haven’t confirmed the person’s account. Detectives plan to interview the person on Tuesday.
Last week, police announced that the “investigation had shifted” following interviews with the brothers and their release from custody. Police have requested another interview with Smollett. They have declined to comment on reports that the attack was a hoax.
Smollett’s lawyers have said the actor was angered and “victimized” by reports he may have played a role in staging the attack.
“Nothing is further from the truth and anyone claiming otherwise is lying,” attorneys Todd Pugh and Victor P. Henderson said in a statement late Saturday.
Anne Kavanagh, a spokeswoman for Smollett’s lawyers, said they would “keep an active dialogue with Chicago police on his behalf.” Kavanagh didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Smollett, who is openly gay, reported he was physically attacked while he was getting a sandwich around 2 a.m. on Jan. 29 near his home in downtown Chicago.
He said the men shouted the slurs and yelled “This is MAGA country,” an apparent reference to President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.” Smollett also said the attackers poured some kind of chemical on him.
Police looked through video surveillance from the area but found no footage of an attack. They did find and release images of two people they wanted to question.
Last Wednesday, police picked up two brothers at Chicago airport as they returned from Nigeria and questioned them about the attack.
They were released Friday.