Police dismiss tip Smollett, 2 brothers were spotted together in elevator

CHICAGO — Chicago police investigated but dismissed a tip that on the night “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett reported being attacked by two masked men, he was with in an elevator of his apartment building with two brothers later arrested and released from custody in the probe, a department spokesman said Tuesday.

Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said a person who lives in the building or was visiting someone there reported seeing the three together the night in question last month. However, he said video evidence allowed investigators to determine the report wasn’t credible.

Guglielmi said the two brothers did meet with prosecutors and police Tuesday in a Chicago courthouse. There was no immediate information about what they discussed.

Smollett said two masked men hurled racial and homophobic slurs at him, beat him and looped a rope around his neck. But last week, police announced that the “investigation had shifted” following interviews with the brothers and their release from custody without charges. 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,” the statement from attorneys Todd Pugh and Victor P. Henderson said in a statement late Saturday.

Smollett