BREAKING:Police raided the home of two persons of interest in Jussie Smollett case last night. Both men are of Nigerian decent and have appeared as extras on the show. Police took bleach, shoes electronics and more.Officers asked family if they knew #Jussiesmollett. @cbschicago
The homes of the “persons of interest” in the Jussie Smollett case have been raided by Chicago Police Department officers. CBS Chicago’s Charlie De Mar reports that both men have appeared as extras in “Empire” and are of Nigerian descent. De Mar tweeted that the men’s home was “ransacked.” A family member told De Mar that they believe the pair have been identified by police as persons of interest because they left for Nigeria on the day of the attack.
The two men are the same two men who were featured in the grainy pictures that was released by the Chicago Police Department.
On the same day as the raid, “Good Morning America” aired an interview with Smollett in which the singer and actor said, “I want to believe, with everything that has happened, that there is something called justice.” Smollett also said that he did not know if he would be able to heal if his assailants were not found.
A lawyer for the men who have been taken into custody has told Charlie De Mar that she has spoken to her clients. On January 29, Smollett told police in Chicago that he had been assaulted while leaving a Subway restaurant, close to the actor’s apartment on North Lower Water Street around 2 a.m. The “Empire” actor described his assailants as being clad in black and wearing ski masks. TMZ was the first report that Smollett told cops his attackers referred to him as a “n*****” and a “f*****.” The gossip site also said that Smollett told officers his attackers shouted, “This is MAGA country” during the alleged assault. Smollett did not mention the “MAGA” remarks in an initial statement but did tell police about those remarks in a subsequent statement. Smollett is openly gay.
Smollett’s manager, Brandon Z. Moore, told police that he was on the phone with the actor when the attack took place. Moore says he heard the men shout, “This is MAGA country.” as well as a racial slur. Police later said that the phone records that Smollett provided to prove this phone call took place were deemed as insufficient.
TMZ was the first to report that Chicago cops had picked up two men on the night of February 14 at O’Hare Airport in relation to the Smollett assault. That article only referred to one of the suspects as having appeared in “Empire.”
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