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The Chicago police concluded that the alleged attack on "Empire" actor, Jussie Smollett, had been organized, according to two reports published in local media.
The Chicago Police Department rebuffed the information, claiming that the idea that the attack was a hoax was "not confirmed by the investigators".
Police spent much of the day on Thursday interrogating two people of interest in the case, who were allegedly seen on surveillance footage on the night of the bombing.
Rob Elgas, a journalist with ABC 7 in Chicago, reported Thursday afternoon that "multiple sources" had stated that Smollett and the two men had staged the attack because his character was being removed from the Serie. Brad Edwards, a CBS Chicago journalist, quoted a source as saying that the investigators felt that "the 2 non-cooperating witnesses are accomplices in a potentially organized attack."
Pamela Sharp, a spokeswoman for Smollett, said the information was "ridiculous rumors".
"He has been very cooperative and very consistent," she said.
Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the Chicago police, said on Twitter that ABC7 sources were inaccurate.
"The media reports that the incident of the Empire being a hoax is not confirmed by the investigators," he wrote. "Superintendent Eddie Johnson has contacted @ ABC7Chicago to declare on the record that we have no evidence to support their statements and that their alleged sources of CPD are uninformed and inaccurate."
Earlier on Thursday, police said they were interrogating the two men but that they were not considered suspects. Local media reported that one of the men had appeared as an extra on "Empire". Elgas reported that Smollett did not show up for an interview scheduled for Thursday. Sharp contradicted this, saying that Smollett had actually answered additional questions from the police in person on Thursday.
Charlie De Mar, a journalist at CBS Chicago, spoke Thursday with family members of the two men interviewed. They told De Mar that the men were brothers and came from Nigeria. They left for Nigeria on the day of the attack, reported De Mar. Police reportedly asked family members if they knew Smollett. De Mar posted a search warrant receipt stating that the investigators had found a laptop, shoes and bleach at home.
Guglielmi said on Twitter that he would not disclose the details of the investigation during the interrogation of men.
"Media reports on the details of the investigation can not be confirmed yet," Guglielmi said.
The Smollett representative said earlier in the day that he was pleased to see progress being made.
"We are delighted that the deal is progressing and we are waiting for more details," she said.
Smollett told the police on January 29 that he had been approached at 2 am that morning by two men who had shouted racial and homophobic slurs, had pbaded him a rope around his neck and licked him. had sprayed with bleach.
On January 30, police released surveillance images of two characters who were in the area at the time of the alleged attack and described them as "people of interest" in this case. In an interview with Good Morning America on Thursday, Smollett said he was convinced the two were the attackers.
"For me, when it was published, I thought," O.K., we're going somewhere, "he told Robin Roberts," I do not doubt it's them, never done. "
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