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The Chicago police announced Sunday that she was still seeking a follow-up interview with Jussie Smollett after receiving new information that would have "altered" the investigation into the attack that would have been carried on the company. 39, actor "of the Empire". The investigation's trajectory "has changed" after the detectives interrogated two brothers about the attack and released them on Friday night without charges, the spokesman said Saturday. police Anthony Guglielmi.
He added that the police had contacted Smollett's lawyers to request another interview with him. Guglielmi said Sunday that the interview had not been completed yet.
A source close to the investigation told CBS News that two Nigerian brothers, Ola and Abel Osundairo, had told the detectives that Mr Smollett had paid them to take part in the attack. They said they bought a rope found around Smollett's neck at a nearby hardware store. A raid of their home revealed ropes, masks and bleach.
Sources told CBS Chicago that the brothers had repeated the assault on Smollett.
Guglielmi declined to comment on reports that, according to the police, Smollett allegedly organized the assault or that a grand jury could hear evidence.
"We are not confirming, refusing or commenting on anything before we can talk to him and we can corroborate some of the information we have obtained," he said.
Smollett, who is black and gay, said that he was physically assaulted last month by two masked men shouting racial and anti-gay insults and saying, "This is the country of MAGA!" He added that they put a rope around his neck before he ran away, while he was returning home after a morning stop at a Subway restaurant in downtown Chicago. He said that they also paid him some kind of chemical.
Pamela Sharp, a spokeswoman for Smollett, said Sunday that there was "no update" yet. Another spokeswoman, Anne Kavanagh, later said that she could not say whether Smollett had accepted another interview or not.
Smollett's lawyers said on Saturday night that the actor was "angry and devastated" and felt "victimized" by reports that he had played a role in the attack, adding that "nothing n & # 39; It is further away from the truth and anyone who claims otherwise is ".
The statement by attorneys Todd Pugh and Victor P. Henderson also indicated that Smollett would continue to cooperate with the police. "At present, Jussie and his lawyers have no intention of reacting to the" unnamed "sources of investigation, but will continue discussions through official channels," the statement said.
"One of those suspects was Jussie's personal trainer, whom he hired to physically prepare him for a clip." It's impossible to believe that this person could have played a role in the crime. committed against Jussie or falsely claim complicity of Jussie, "the statement said. added.
The other brother played a prisoner in season two of "Empire".
Police said they had screened a surveillance video in the heavily guarded area where Smollett had stated that the attack had occurred, but could not find a video footage of the incident. They got pictures of two people they said they wanted to interview.
The two brothers apparently left Chicago on the day of the alleged attack. On Wednesday, Chicago police retrieved them at the O 'International Airport on their return from Nigeria. They described them as "suspects" in the assault, interrogated them and searched their apartment.
Late in the evening of Friday, they released the two men without charge and declared that they were no longer suspects. They claimed to have gathered new information after questioning them.
Police said she was investigating the attack as a possible hate crime and considered Smollett a victim.
The reports on the aggression have elicited outrage and support from some politicians and celebrities on social media. Smollett's account of what has happened has also generated a great deal of skepticism, particularly as a result of recent developments.
Smollett, who is also a musician, delivered a moving speech at a concert in West Hollywood, California on Feb. 2, claiming that he had decided to continue the show because he could not leave his attackers win.
He also gave an interview to Robin Roberts of ABC News broadcast Thursday in which he said he was "pissed off" by people who did not think they had been attacked.
"I've heard that it was a date that went wrong, which I also dislike," he said. "I'm not going to fetch a tuna sandwich and a salad to meet someone – it's ridiculous – and it's shocking."
Earlier this week, police said the information that the attack on Smollett was a hoax was not confirmed.
Producers of the Fox television series supported Smollett, claiming that his character in "Empire," Jamal Lyon, was not being written off the show.
Smollett gave redacted phone records that, according to the police, were not sufficient for a criminal investigation.
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