Smollett Staged Attack, Was Unhappy With Salary: Police
"Empire" actor Jussie Smollett orchestrated an attack on himself, in which he said two men beat him while shouting homophobic and racist slurs and putting a rope around his neck, because he was "dissatisfied" with his salary, police said Thursday.
Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said Smollett sent a threatening letter to himself and paid two men $3,500 to stage the attack against him.
"This announcement today recognizes that 'Empire' actor Jussie Smolett took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career," Johnson said. "I'm left hanging my head and asking why. Why would anyone, especially an African American man, use the symbolism of a noose to make false accusations."
Smollett turned himself into police early Thursday morning on a felony charge of disorderly conduct in filing a false police report. He is expected to appear in bond court at 1:30 p.m.
Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi confirmed to NBC Chicago that Smollett surrendered to police at around 5 a.m. at CPD's Central Booking station at West 18th Street and South State Street.
The "Empire" star was charged Wednesday with the class four felony, which carries a sentence ranging from probation to up to three years in prison, according to Chicago police and the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.
"Like any other citizen, Mr. Smollett enjoys the presumption of innocence, particularly when there has been an investigation like this one where information, both true and false, has been repeatedly leaked," Smollett's legal team said in a statement Wednesday. "Given these circumstances, we intend to conduct a thorough investigation and to mount an aggressive defense."
Chicago police have confirmed that attorneys for Smollett had discussions with prosecutors Wednesday, but details surrounding the dialogue were not released.
Authorities said new information "shifted" their investigation of the reported assault last week.
Smollett said two masked men physically attacked him as he was returning home from an early morning stop at a Subway restaurant. He said the men shouted racial, anti-gay slurs and "This is MAGA country!" as they looped a rope around his neck and poured an "unknown chemical substance" on him before running away.
Detectives questioned two brothers about the attack but released them late Friday without charges. Police said they had gleaned new information from their interrogation of the two men and they were no longer suspects.
Surveillance video taken at 10 a.m. on Jan. 28 appears to show brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo shopping at Beauty House at 1041 W. Wilson Ave. in the Uptown neighborhood.
The brothers can be seen making their way to the check out counter and purchasing several items, including two ski masks, gloves and baseball caps. The video then shows them walking to their vehicle.
The items are of interest because police said Smollett told them the attackers were wearing masks. The security guard working that day told NBC 5 he realized the brothers had been in the store last week and that he had helped them find the items they were looking for.
"This has been very traumatizing for them as well as everyone who knows this story and has heard this story," said Gloria Schmidt, attorney for the Osundairo brothers.
On Tuesday, Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx recused herself from the investigation into the alleged attack with little explanation.
"Out of an abundance of caution, the decision to recuse herself was made to address potential questions of impartiality based upon familiarity with potential witnesses in the case," a spokesperson said in an emailed statement Tuesday.
A statement from 20th Century Fox Television and Fox Entertainment issued Wednesday - before the charges were announced - said that despite the ongoing case, Smollett's character was "not being written out of the show."
"Jussie Smollett continues to be a consummate professional on set and as we have previously stated, he is not being written out of the show," Fox said of Smollett.
"Chicago's message to the world is that no matter where you come from, who you love, or how you pray you will always have a home here. Our laws exist to reflect and defend those values, and hate crimes will never be tolerated," Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement. "A single individual who put their perceived self-interest ahead of these shared principles will never trump Chicago's collective spirit."
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