Actor and Singer, Jussie Smollett has been arrested and is under the custody of the Chicago police for disorderly conducts and filing a false police report. This was revealed in a series of tweets by Anthony Guglielmi, the Chief Communication Officer of the Chicago Police.
Recall that news agencies reported that the Empire actor has been severely beaten by two unidentified men who were shouting racist and homophobic slogans, according to TMZ.
Smollett described the incident in an interview with ABC news saying that he has travelled to Chicago for filming and at about two in the morning; he had gone to a café for a sandwich because Subway stays open for 24 hours. When on his way back, near the entrance of a Loews hotel, two peoples in a ski masks approached him and began to shout different insults and swearing. After this, they punched him many times. The actor went on to identify the criminals as two white men.
In the same interview, Jussie stated that his assailants tried to strangle him when they threw a rope around his neck and then poured bleach on him. All the while, they were shouting “This is MAGA country!”
This attack resulted in Jussie suffering broken ribs and he had to be hospitalized.
Recall that TMZ had shared that the Empire star had received a threat note eight days before the attack. The letter was made up of cut letter and had curse words in it.
The Chicago police department announced on Twitter that they had detained for questioning two suspects, Ola and Abel Osundario – both Nigerian brothers. But in a surprising turn of events, the brothers claimed that they had been paid to attack the actor by the actor in what they assumed was a search for attention. They went as far as pointing out where they bought the rope to choke Jussie with.
These details have changed the attitude of the police towards the case. Anthony Guglielmi, spokesperson of the Chicago Police Department said: “While we are not in a position to confirm, deny or comment on the validity of what’s been unofficially released, there are some developments in this investigation and detectives have some follow-ups to complete which include speaking to the individual who reported the incident.”
In reaction, the TV star showed his disappointment at the accusation. He said: “It feels like if I had said it was a Muslim or a Mexican or someone black, I feel like the doubters would have supported me a lot much more… And that says a lot about the place where we are as a country right now.”
Although the Osundario brothers have been released, investigation still continues as the police spokesperson in a Twitter post said: “Due to new evidence as a result of today’s interrogations, the individuals questioned by police in the Empire case have now been released without charging and detectives have additional investigative work to complete.”