Jussie Smollett Arrested Over False Attack Report
The
Empire star had said he was subjected to a homophobic and racist physical
attack by two men in January.
Police
suspect the 36-year-old actor paid two Nigerian brothers to stage the attack.
They are both co-operating with the investigation, US media report.
His
lawyers have not yet commented. On Wednesday, they said they would "mount
an aggressive defence".
Suspicion over the
actor's claim started to grow after police said they could not find any video
footage of the alleged incident from surveillance cameras. There were also no
witnesses.
But
investigators managed to track two men who appeared on video footage near where
the actor said he had been attacked.
The men - Ola and
Abel Osundairo - had left the US following the alleged attack and were held for
nearly 48 hours after they returned last week.
They were released
without charges after providing information that "shifted the trajectory
of the investigation", police said, without providing details.
One
of the brothers is Mr Smollett's personal trainer and both have worked as
extras on Empire.
On
Wednesday, CBS Chicago obtained footage which appeared to show two people
buying materials, including ski masks, that had allegedly been worn by the
actor's attackers.
Mr
Smollett turned himself in early on Thursday and is in custody of Chicago
police, spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.
The actor, who is
gay, said he had gone out to buy food late at night in downtown Chicago when two
white men hurled racial and homophobic insults at him.
They
allegedly punched the actor, poured a chemical substance over him and put a
rope around his neck.
Mr
Smollett also claimed the men had told him "this is Maga country",
apparently referring to President Donald Trump's "Make America Great
Again" slogan.
The actor
said he had been "forever changed" by the alleged incident. An
outpouring of support followed, including from Oscar winner Viola Davis and supermodel Naomi
Campbell.
FROM bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-
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