The Police Explained for Jussie Smollett Case:Everything We Know
According to reports, three weeks ago, Jussie Smollett was a victim of racist, homosexual terrorist attacks. Now, after questioning two people who were originally thought to be suspects, the police said the new message "has changed the trajectory of the investigation."
According to reports, the news of the attack came viral, and there were different reactions on the Internet. Many people thought that this incident was a scam, which the actors denied. On Saturday, CNN quoted law enforcement sources as saying that the imperial actor paid two men to plan an attack for him. Smollett’s lawyer said that the actor felt “victimized” because he “played a role in his own attack”.
Smollett, who is black and gay, plays a queer character in the FOX drama Empire. News of his story was met with an almost immediate outpouring of support from Smollett’s colleagues and the LGBTQ community at large. Empire co-creator Danny Strong, for example, condemned the attack and tweeted his support of Smollett.
Chicago police made clear from the outset that they were treating the incident as a possible hate crime. Media reports followed every development in the unexpected case of a celebrity who claimed to be a victim of targeted violence and hate.
Chicago police made clear from the outset that they were treating the incident as a possible hate crime. Media reports followed every development in the unexpected case of a celebrity who claimed to be a victim of targeted violence and hate.
The police are now seeking to talk to the actors again and reach out to his legal team, and TMZ is reporting that the grand jury will hear the case next week. Court officials or prosecutors did not respond immediately. The court rested on the weekend of President's Day.
Here's a full timeline showing what we know about the alleged attack on Smollett:
January 22 - The Letter: Chicago police confirm that a threatening letter addressed to Smollett, containing a white powder, was sent to Cinespace Studios, the Chicago set of Empire. A HAZMAT unit is sent and the powder is determined to be crushed up aspirin, according to CNN.
January 29 - The Alleged Assault: Smollett, who is black and gay, reports to police that he was assaulted in Chicago by two men who hurled racial and homophobic slurs at him. Authorities begin investigating the incident as a possible hate crime.
According to NBC News, Smollett told police that he had just landed in town from New York and was attacked as he stepped out to get a bite to eat at a Subway restaurant around 2 a.m. on East North Lower Water Street, in the upscale neighborhood of Streeterville.
Two "unknown offenders approached him and gained his attention by yelling out racial and homophobic slurs towards him," the Chicago Police Department says in a statement. "The offenders began to batter the victim with their hands about the face and poured an unknown chemical substance on the victim."
A source familiar with the investigation tells NBC News that the chemical is believed to be bleach.
January 29 - The Alleged Assault: Smollett, who is black and gay, reports to police that he was assaulted in Chicago by two men who hurled racial and homophobic slurs at him. Authorities begin investigating the incident as a possible hate crime.
According to NBC News, Smollett told police that he had just landed in town from New York and was attacked as he stepped out to get a bite to eat at a Subway restaurant around 2 a.m. on East North Lower Water Street, in the upscale neighborhood of Streeterville.
Two "unknown offenders approached him and gained his attention by yelling out racial and homophobic slurs towards him," the Chicago Police Department says in a statement. "The offenders began to batter the victim with their hands about the face and poured an unknown chemical substance on the victim."
A source familiar with the investigation tells NBC News that the chemical is believed to be bleach.
Police say Smollett told them the attackers were men wearing dark clothing and ski masks.
"At some point during the incident, one of the offenders wrapped a rope around the victim's neck," the police statement says. "The offenders fled the scene."
TMZ reports that as the men left the scene, they yelled, "This is MAGA country," a reference to President Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again" 2016 campaign slogan. Chicago police later say in a statement to to E! News, "In the initial reports there was no mention of MAGA. When detectives followed up with [Smollett] later in the day, he recalled the offenders making those comments and detectives completed a supplemental report."
Smollett finds his own way to Northwestern Memorial Hospital for treatment and is said to be in good condition.
A police spokesperson says the actor "is fully cooperating" with their investigation.
January 29 - Celebs Rally Behind Smollett: ...and call for #JusticeforJesse.
"At some point during the incident, one of the offenders wrapped a rope around the victim's neck," the police statement says. "The offenders fled the scene."
TMZ reports that as the men left the scene, they yelled, "This is MAGA country," a reference to President Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again" 2016 campaign slogan. Chicago police later say in a statement to to E! News, "In the initial reports there was no mention of MAGA. When detectives followed up with [Smollett] later in the day, he recalled the offenders making those comments and detectives completed a supplemental report."
Smollett finds his own way to Northwestern Memorial Hospital for treatment and is said to be in good condition.
A police spokesperson says the actor "is fully cooperating" with their investigation.
January 29 - Celebs Rally Behind Smollett: ...and call for #JusticeforJesse.
"You didn't deserve to have a noose put around your neck, to have bleach thrown on you, to be called 'die f––––t, n––––r,' or whatever they said to you," Empire creator Lee Daniels writes on Instagram. You are better than that. We are better than that. America is better than that. We have to love each other regardless of what sexual orientation we are, because it shows that we are united."
TMZ reports that Daniels briefly posted, then deleted, a screen grab from a FaceTime session he had with Smollett while he was in the hospital.
January 30 - Two "Persons of Interest"? Chicago police spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi tweets, "#ChicagoPolice detectives located a surveillance camera that shows potential persons of interest wanted for questioning in reference to the assault & battery of Empire actor."
Images of two figures walking on a sidewalk are then released by the department.
TMZ reports that Daniels briefly posted, then deleted, a screen grab from a FaceTime session he had with Smollett while he was in the hospital.
January 30 - Two "Persons of Interest"? Chicago police spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi tweets, "#ChicagoPolice detectives located a surveillance camera that shows potential persons of interest wanted for questioning in reference to the assault & battery of Empire actor."
Images of two figures walking on a sidewalk are then released by the department.
It’s very similar to the “validation” seen last month after the Covington Catholic School teens were dragged online for seeming to harass Native American elders. Once it became clear there was more to the story, conservative media quickly coalesced behind the students, saying they were the real victims in this case: victims of liberals’ instinctive dismissal of anyone wearing a MAGA baseball cap.
As Vox’s Zack Beauchamp wrote at the time, the Covington drama became something of a Rorschach test, with “each side seeing what it wants to in a way that’s more revealing about their own worldviews than the actual incident.” For the right, it revealed several of their “core animating assumptions”:
As Vox’s Zack Beauchamp wrote at the time, the Covington drama became something of a Rorschach test, with “each side seeing what it wants to in a way that’s more revealing about their own worldviews than the actual incident.” For the right, it revealed several of their “core animating assumptions”:
From their point of view, the liberal reaction to the video, and not the footage itself, was the biggest problem. It reveals a culture where white men are acceptable targets of hate who deserve no sympathy and no due process, and where the left-wing mob wields tremendous power through its command of the public sphere.
That view connects to a broader assumption shared by many conservatives: that white Christian men are a persecuted minority in modern America.
Then, as with now, the ensuing backlash to the initial news reports also ignited anti-media sentiment among conservatives. Even though most coverage of the actor’s attack directly reflected police statements, and it was clear the investigation was ongoing, the developing narrative is being taken as a sign that journalists blindly accept any stories with a careless regard for the facts — particularly those stories that support liberal ideals.
In both the Covington and Smollett cases, liberals were quick to immediately condemn what was, on first glance, unacceptable behavior. In the latter case, even President Trump, who is often criticized for taking his time before commenting on cases where the victims are minorities or from disadvantaged groups, denounced Smollet’s alleged attack as “horrible.”
“It doesn’t get worse, as far as I’m concerned,” he said from the Oval Office days after news broke.
No matter how the facts shake out — for all the speculation, police are still not calling Smollet a “suspect” — the case now hits at the core identity that Trump shares with his supporters, perpetuating a dangerous world-view that the media is corrupt and the stories of racism and bigotry are better off not being believed.
That view connects to a broader assumption shared by many conservatives: that white Christian men are a persecuted minority in modern America.
Then, as with now, the ensuing backlash to the initial news reports also ignited anti-media sentiment among conservatives. Even though most coverage of the actor’s attack directly reflected police statements, and it was clear the investigation was ongoing, the developing narrative is being taken as a sign that journalists blindly accept any stories with a careless regard for the facts — particularly those stories that support liberal ideals.
In both the Covington and Smollett cases, liberals were quick to immediately condemn what was, on first glance, unacceptable behavior. In the latter case, even President Trump, who is often criticized for taking his time before commenting on cases where the victims are minorities or from disadvantaged groups, denounced Smollet’s alleged attack as “horrible.”
“It doesn’t get worse, as far as I’m concerned,” he said from the Oval Office days after news broke.
No matter how the facts shake out — for all the speculation, police are still not calling Smollet a “suspect” — the case now hits at the core identity that Trump shares with his supporters, perpetuating a dangerous world-view that the media is corrupt and the stories of racism and bigotry are better off not being believed.
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