Brothers in Smollett trial say they were paid to attack actor; state rests

CHICAGO — The state rested its case in Jussie Smollett’s trial Thursday after key testimony from two brothers who said the former “Empire” actor plotted a racist and anti-gay attack on himself in downtown Chicago and paid them to carry it out.

After a three-day presentation of evidence, special prosecutor Dan Webb told the presiding judge Thursday evening that the prosecution was finished. The defense began its case immediately, calling Brandon Moore, Smollett’s music manager at the time.

Earlier in the day, Smollett’s lawyer worked to discredit the brothers’ accounts, suggesting that they attacked Smollett because they didn’t like him and tried to get him to pay them each $1 million not to testify that he staged the assault.

Defense attorney Shay Allen suggested that the brothers were motivated to accuse Smollett of staging the hoax because they disliked the performer — who is gay and Black — and then saw an opportunity to make money.

Olabingo Osundairo’s testimony at Smollett’s trial in Chicago echoed the account his brother, Abimbola Osundairo, gave on the witness stand Wednesday, including that Smollett wanted the brothers to douse him with gasoline and put a noose around his neck, and that Smollett gave them a $100 bill to buy the supplies and paid them with a $3,500 check.

Olabingo Osundairo said Smollett told him he received hate mail at the TV studio in Chicago “and he had this crazy idea of having two MAGA [Make America Great Again] supporters attack him.” Osundairo believed the plan was to publicize the attack on social media, not to involve police, he said.

“He wanted me to put the noose round his neck and pour the bleach on him,” Osundairo said.

They opted for bleach, Osundairo said, because he wasn’t comfortable using gasoline. He said Smollett wanted his brother to do the punching and that it should look like a struggle and appear that the actor fought back.

Smollett, 39, is charged with six counts of felony disorderly conduct for making what prosecutors say was a false police report about the alleged attack on Jan. 29, 2019 — one count for each time he gave a report — to three different officers. The Class 4 felony carries a prison sentence of up to three years, but experts have said if Smollett is convicted he likely would be placed on probation and ordered to perform community service.

Olabingo Osundairo also denied that a white person was involved, or that he and his brother even wore masks or makeup to make it appear they were white. In statements that were widely ridiculed because the brothers are Black, Smollett had said he saw pale or white skin around the eyes of one of his masked attackers.

In follow-up questioning by Webb, Osundairo said he never thought Smollett would go to the police to report the fake attack as a real hate crime. He said Smollett told him that he wanted to use it to generate media attention, and that he has never lied to Chicago police.

Smollett’s legal team is expected to ask Olabingo Osundairo on cross-examination about his previous felony conviction, which he testified Thursday was in 2012. As a convicted felon he could not legally possess a firearm, but police found several guns when they searched one of the brother’s home after the alleged attack.

Abimbola Osundairo said the guns belonged to him and that Olabingo Osundairo didn’t live there. Defense attorneys claimed the brothers made up a lie about Smollett staging the attack to get out of trouble for possessing the firearms and heroin found in the home.

Abimbola Osundairo, an aspiring actor, said he and his brother agreed to their roles in the fake attack because he felt indebted to Smollett for helping him with his acting career.