Indices of a potential motive behind the attack – CBS Chicago

(CBS) – The actor "Empire" Jussie Smollett, upset by a racist letter sent to the studio of the show, has not aroused "a greater reaction", is suspected of having paid two men to attack him a week later, according to several sources directly knowing the investigation.

"When the letter did not attract enough attention, he concocted the staged attack," a source told CBS 2 investigator Brad Edwards. Other sources have corroborated this information.

CHRONOLOGY: Key developments in the Jussie Smollett case

COMPLETE COVERAGE: Read the coverage of the case by CBS 2

The blockbuster revelation in at least part of Smollett's potential motivation comes two days after Charlie De Mar of CBS 2 reported Smollett and two brothers – Ola and Abel Osundairo – staged the attack on Jan. 29 at Streeterville .

De Mar spoke on the phone exclusively with the Osundairo brothers on Monday afternoon. In a joint statement, they said, "We are not racist. We are not homophobic and we are not anti-Trump. We were born and raised in Chicago and we are US citizens. "

Smollett received a letter containing a white powder on January 22nd. The letter was sent to Chicago's Cinespace Studios, where the "Empire" show is filmed. The letter prompted a HAZMAT response. DPC says that "white matter" was later determined to be aspirin.

The note was composed of letters apparently cut from magazines to form words. The reconstituted message contained racial and homophobic threats against Smollett. A magazine is one of the pieces of evidence collected at the brother's home last week during a search by CPD. The investigators also recovered a book of stamps.

The brothers are Smollett's acquaintances.

Asked about the letter during a televised interview last week, Smollett said, "On the letter, a stick figure was hanging on a tree with a gun pointed at her." She also wore " MAGA "- reference to the campaign of President Donald Trump. Make America Great Again slogan – written as return address.

"All the facts will be revealed and at the end of the day, my clients will be honest and credible," said the two brothers' lawyer, Gloria Schmidt.

During the search of the brothers' home last week, a "piece of paper / writing" was also seized. CBS 2 is the only source of information with a video coming from inside this house. Police evidence records, obtained exclusively by CBS 2, show that the investigators took the sample, the magazine and a "wallet with stamps".

The Chicago police say the FBI is handling the investigation surrounding the letter, because it's a federal concern.

Smollett claims that two men attacked him in Streeterville early January 29 while he was heading to his apartment. He said that they had shouted racial and homophobic slurs, poured a chemical product on him and put a rope around his neck.

According to sources, at least one of the brothers would have bought the rope used during the incident at Smollett's request. The sources also said that the actor "Empire" had paid for the rope, which had been purchased at the Crafty Beaver hardware store in the Ravenswood neighborhood on the weekend of Jan. 25.

According to sources, one of the brothers held the rope and poured bleach while the other wore a plain red hat and shouted insults to Smollett.

The sources said that the red hat had been purchased from a Uptown beauty shop and that the attack was supposed to take place before January 29. The brothers told detectives that the three men had repeated the attack several days before the event. Smollett paid the brothers $ 3,500.

When Edwards contacted CPD immediately prior to this report, a spokesperson responded by SMS:

"We do not do any interviews or official statements until we have corroborated some of the information we have received from the police. Until we have met the actor of the Empire, we are not able to confirm, refute or comment on informally communicated information.

"When this investigation is completed, we will have a detailed accounting of the case. Although we are unable to confirm, deny or comment on the validity of what has been unofficially published, this survey has undergone some developments, and the detectives have some follow-up to carry out, including an additional survey and interviews with the person who reported the incident. "