Chicago Police: Smollett used ‘the pain and anger of racism to promote his career’ [video + hoax timeline]

Chicago law enforcement officials denounced Jussie Smollett’s account of a hate crime against him as “phony” and “shameful” during a press conference Thursday morning.

“This announcement today recognizes that ‘Empire’ actor Jussie Smollett took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career,” Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said. “First, Smollett attempted to gain attention by sending a false letter that relied on racial, homophobic and political language.”

“When that didn’t work, Smollett paid $3500 to stage this attack and drag Chicago’s reputation through the mud in the process,” he added.

According to witness statements, Smollett orchestrated the hoax to get more money from Fox for his role on “Empire.” Officials said that they have the check Smollett used to pay the two ‘attackers’ and that most of his injuries appeared to be “self-inflicted.”

Johnson said that Smollett was treated as a victim throughout the process until evidence arose leading detectives in a different direction.

“These detectives deserve all the credit in the world for carefully analyzing the leads and evidence for weeks before coming to their conclusion,” he said.

Johnson also referred to the national attention that Smollett’s claims initially received and hoped that the media would finally cover the hoax for what it was.

“I only hope that the truth about what happened receives the same amount of attention that the hoax did,” he said.

Smollett Hoax Timeline (according to Chicago Police Detectives):

• Jan 29
  • 2:00 a.m.: Smollett reported to police that he was a victim of a hate crime
  • early a.m: Police detectives interviewed Smollett at Northwestern Hospital
    • Jussie had no serious injuries at the time – just scratches and perhaps bruises – “mostly self-inflicted,” according to Johnson
• Continuing Investigation
  • 2 persons of interest identified on police owned and privately owned security cameras
    • They were tracked from a rideshare car to a cab, to the area of the attack
    • After the attack, they took a cab from the area and eventually to the airport where they had taken a round trip to Nigeria with a return date of Feb. 13
• Feb 13
  • Chicago PD, FBI and Airport officials worked jointly to arrest the 2 people of interest as they returned to the country
  • Their attorney told Chicago Police that her clients were not perpetrators, but victims
• Feb 15
  • Nigerian brothers were released and status changed to “witnesses”
• Feb 19
  • Smollett’s attorney’s offered new evidence and requested a delay of the Grand Jury – but offered no new information
• Feb 20
  • Witnesses testified before a Grand Jury
  • Smollett indicted on Class 4 Felony: Disorderly Conduct – Filing a False Police Report
• Feb 21
  • 5:00 a.m. Jussie Smollett turned himself into Chicago Police
  • 1:30 p.m. Bond Court Hearing

Full Press Conference on Jussie Smollett Arrest

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