Chicago police arrested two men on Friday in connection with the attack of actor Jussie Smollett. The Empire star says he was beaten on Jan. 29, had a noose put around his neck and had an unknown chemical, believed to be bleach, poured on him. During the attack, Smollett reports that profane anti-gay slurs were shouted at him, as well as, “This is MAGA Country,” which of course stands for Donald Trump’s mantra, “Make America Great Again.” At this point in Trump’s presidency, invoking “MAGA” is the same as saying, “I’m a racist, homophobic, xenophobic ass-wipe.” After a struggle, the two suspected assailants ran off.
On Thursday morning, Smollett appeared on ”Good Morning America” and spoke about his experience. The media felt it was okay to embellish his story, so Smollet clarified at least one of the false rumors, insisting that his attackers were not wearing “Make America Great Again” hats, as has been reported. Smollett added that after he was attacked and called a f****t, and n****r, he didn’t need “some MAGA hat as the cherry on some racist sundae.”
The suspects, who are reportedly brothers, were arrested after flying into O’Hare airport from Nigeria on Wednesday, but have not been charged. Detectives had cause to believe the two men were involved in the crime, and their apartment was searched.
Additional rumors about the attack spread this week, with some media reporting the incident was a hoax, possibly created to keep Smollett’s character from being written off of the hit show. Chicago police put those rumors to bed on Thursday night.
CPD spokesman Anthony Guglielmi went further on Friday.
“Interrogations will resume today with the two individuals and their attorney." Guglielmi said in Friday's statement. “While we haven’t found any video documenting the alleged attack, there is also no evidence to say that this is a hoax.”
“The alleged victim is being cooperative at this time and continues to be treated as a victim, not a suspect,” he added.
One of the suspected attackers appeared on an episode of Empire—the same show in which Smollett stars. Whether this was related to the attack or not, some still question whether such an attack would be classified as a “hate crime.” The investigation continues, but on the other side of this story there is some pretty strong and disgusting anti-gay rhetoric and racism going on. Anti-LGBTQ hate crimes (the ones actually reported) rose to almost 1500 in 2017. So what’s that like? If you are straight, like me, you have no idea, nor do non-black people know what it feels like to be black and still alive after having a noose put around our neck. What could possibly happen next? “Hate crime” doesn’t even begin to capture that kind of horror.
There is more developing news to this story: CNN reports:
Chicago (CNN)Two law enforcement sources with knowledge of the investigation told CNN that Chicago Police believe Jussie Smollett paid two men to orchestrate the assault.
The brothers, who were arrested Wednesday, were released without charges Friday after Chicago police cited the discovery of "new evidence." The sources told CNN that the two men are now cooperating fully with law enforcement.
The sources told CNN that there are records that show the two brothers purchased the rope found around Smollett's neck at an Ace Hardware store in Chicago.
CNN's attempts to reach both Smollett's representative and attorney Saturday were unsuccessful.
Since this case continues to surprise, enrage and sadden, only time will tell.