I have to say that I was somewhat skeptical about this one from the beginning; it seemed just a little too "perfect"...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-ent ... cc10b95fe5Focus of Jussie Smollett assault investigation has ‘shifted,’ Chicago police say
By Bethonie Butler
February 16 at 11:27 PM
Chicago police say new information in the case involving an alleged assault against Jussie Smollett has “shifted the trajectory of the investigation” and that they want to interview the “Empire” actor again.
In a statement Saturday night, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the information was received in interviews with two individuals who were questioned by police and that the department has reached out to Smollett’s attorney to request a follow-up interview.
Chicago police said last month they were investigating an alleged assault against Smollett, who is black and openly gay, as a possible hate crime. Smollett told police he was attacked about 2 a.m. on Jan. 29 by two people who yelled racial and homophobic slurs, tied a rope around his neck, and poured a chemical substance, which he believes was bleach, on him. According to Smollett, at least one assailant told him “this is MAGA country” during the alleged attack.[Gee, a racial slur, a gay slur, a noose, and a Trump reference to boot. That pretty much checks all the boxes...I guess they forgot their KKK hoods.]
On Friday, Chicago police said they had arrested two potential suspects on “probable cause that they may have been involved in an alleged crime.” Guglielmi told The Washington Post that at least one of the two men, who were later released without being charged, has worked on the Fox drama. Guglielmi did not confirm whether the men — who are of Nigerian descent and believed to be the “persons of interest” seen in surveillance images released by police last month — knew Smollett.
The sources told CNN there are records that show the two brothers purchased the rope found around Smollett's neck at a hardware store in Chicago.
“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,” Guglielmi said in a tweet Friday night.
The latest police statement comes amid increasing news reports, which cite unnamed police sources, that Smollett may have staged his own attack in the city last month.
ETA:
From the same article:
Well I guess that depends, Mr. Smollett..."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," Smollett said. "And that says a lot about the place where we are as a country right now."
If there was evidence that the folks who were caught on video leaving the scene, and who bought the rope that was used in your "attack" were two Swedish guys who had worked on your television show, I suspect there would still be a fair number of "doubters"...