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		</div><h6><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Jussie Smollett,</strong> <strong>36, was criminally charged on Wednesday night in Chicago for filing fake police report just hours after surveillance footage emerged of the Nigerian brothers in alleged &#8216;attack&#8217; buying black ski masks and a red hat</strong></span></h6>
<h6><strong><span style="color: #000000;">He is charged with filing a false police report, a Class 4 felony after Video of them buying ski masks and red hat day before the attack has emerged</span></strong></h6>
<h6><strong><span style="color: #000000;">Cook County State&#8217;s Attorney approved charges after grand jury indicted, c</span><span style="color: #000000;">ops say that he hoaxed a hate crime assault on himself on January 29</span></strong></h6>
<h6><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, f</strong></span><strong>ormer &#8216;persons of interest&#8217;,</strong> <span style="color: #000000;"><strong>but now cooperating with investigators were earlier seen entering grand jury </strong></span></h6>
<h6><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Video emerged of the brothers buying items used in the alleged assault &#8211; ski masks and a red hat &#8211; a day before the attack </strong></span></h6>
<h6><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Smollett, who has hired a team of lawyers, denies that he made up his story with h</strong></span><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>is attorneys saying he &#8216;enjoys the presumption of innocence&#8217; in the case</strong></span></h6>
<h6><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>If convicted, the charges carry a maximum sentence of three years and a fine of up to $25,000 </strong></span></h6>
<h6><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Feds also still investigating hate mail that Smollett claimed he received</strong></span></h6>
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<h6 class="overlay-icon mobile-gallery"><img class="alignnone wp-image-308026" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Jussie-Smollett-5-300x263.png" alt="" width="586" height="514" /><strong>Jussie Smollett is charged with felony filing a false police report in Chicago</strong></h6>
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<p class="mol-para-with-font">A cast member of the popular TV drama Jussie Smollett has been charged with filing a false police report after claiming he had been attacked in what police believe was a hate hoax.<br />
The Chicago PD announced on Wednesday night that the Cook County State&#8217;s Attorney Office had approved the criminal charges against Smollett.<br />
&#8216;Detectives will make contact with his legal team to negotiate a reasonable surrender for his arrest,&#8217; police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement.<br />
Police suspect that Smollett who is black and openly gay, staged a racist and homophobic assault against himself on January 29, which he claimed was carried out by white men who shouted &#8216;this is MAGA country&#8217; as they put a noose around his neck.<br />
The 36-year-old actor is due in bond court on Thursday.</p>
<h6 class="mol-para-with-font"><strong><img class="alignnone wp-image-308002" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Jussie-Smollett-1-256x300.png" alt="" width="633" height="742" />Smollett is seen in hospital after the Jan 29 incident. Chicago police said the alleged attack was a hoax</strong></h6>
<p class="mol-para-with-font">He was charged with filing a false police report, a Class 4 felony which carries a maximum penalty of three years imprisonment and a $25,000 fine.<br />
Smollett&#8217;s attorneys in a statement said that he would vigorously contest the charges.<br />
&#8216;Like any other citizen, Mr. Smollett enjoys the presumption of innocence, particularly when there has been an investigation like this one where information, both true and false, has been repeatedly leaked,&#8217; attorneys Todd Pugh and Victor Henderson said. &#8216;Given these circumstances, we intend to conduct a thorough investigation and to mount an aggressive defense.&#8217;</p>
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<h6 class="mobile-gallery-icon"><img class="alignnone wp-image-308484" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Abimbola-Osundairo-and-Olamide-Osundairo-5-300x230.png" alt="" width="663" height="508" /><strong>Video footage emerged Wednesday of Nigerian brothers Abimbola &#8216;Abel&#8217; and Olabinjo &#8216;Ola&#8217; Osundairo buying ski masks, a red hat and gloves in a store the day before Smollett reported the attack</strong></h6>
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Earlier on Wednesday police announced that they were classifying Smollett as a &#8216;suspect in a criminal investigation&#8217; and a grand jury was impaneled to hear evidence in the case.<br />
Brothers Abimbola &#8216;Abel&#8217; and Olabinjo &#8216;Ola&#8217; Osundairo, whom police believe participated in staging the attack, testified before the grand jury for about two and a half hours, their attorney said.<br />
Their testimony came as video footage emerged of the Nigerian brothers buying ski masks, a red hat and gloves in a store the day before Smollett reported the attack.<br />
The footage was obtained by <a class="class" href="https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2019/02/20/jussie-smollett-video-shows-brothers-red-hat-ski-mask/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">CBS</a> on Wednesday.<br />
It was taken on January 28 and shows brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo inside what looks like a drug store buying the masks and one hat.<br />
Smollett told police that he was attacked by two masked assailants who punched him, poured bleach on him, tied a noose around his neck and called him &#8216;Empire n****r f****t&#8217;.<br />
Investigators are yet to find footage of the incident itself.</div>
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<div class="mobile-gallery-icon"><img class="alignnone wp-image-308485" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Abimbola-Osundairo-and-Olamide-Osundairo-6-300x173.png" alt="" width="973" height="561" /><strong>Abel, who was dressed in a blue plaid jacket, put his hood up 30 seconds into it and then got out his phone. He appeared to type and swipe through photographs</strong></div>
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<div>In the video taken inside the store the day earlier, the brothers look calm in the video as they bring the items to the register.<br />
Abel is dressed in a blue plaid jacket. About 30 seconds into the video, he puts his hood up while standing at the register. His younger brother Ola, who once appeared on Empire as an extra, is in a green jacket.<br />
Once they had dumped their haul on the register, they looked at one another and waited to be served.<br />
They stand and watch as the cashier bags up their items which included gloves, bobble hats and sunglasses.<br />
Abel put his gloves on to leave the store and he paid cash for everything.<br />
As they waited for the items to be bagged up, Abel got out his phone and appeared to be typing and looking through images.<br />
He and Ola maintained conversation throughout.</p>
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<div class="mobile-gallery-icon"><img class="alignnone wp-image-308487" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Abimbola-Osundairo-and-Olamide-Osundairo-8-300x292.png" alt="" width="912" height="888" /><strong>Abel paid cash for the haul and his brother, who was wearing a purple bandanna, spoke to him as they stood at the cash register</strong></div>
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<div class="image-wrap fff-pic"><strong> <img class="alignnone wp-image-308491" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Abimbola-Osundairo-and-Olamide-Osundairo-10-295x300.png" alt="" width="929" height="945" />Abel put on his gloves before he left the store. The video was taken a day before the alleged incident</strong></p>
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<h6><img class="alignnone wp-image-308488" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Abimbola-Osundairo-and-Olamide-Osundairo-9-300x267.png" alt="" width="675" height="601" />T<strong>he brothers walked out with two separate bags. The day after the attack, they fled to Nigeria </strong></h6>
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<p class="mol-para-with-font">The brothers were picked up by police at Chicago O&#8217;Hare Airport on Wednesday night as they returned from Nigeria. They had flown there on January 29, hours after Smollett reported the attack and a day after they were filmed in the store.<br />
While in police custody last week, they reportedly told police Smollett paid them $3,500 to carry out the attack and that he also told them where to buy the rope that was put around his neck.<br />
That was purchased in a separate store, according to police sources.<br />
The video was shared on Wednesday as Smollett&#8217;s attorneys met with prosecutors and police in Chicago.<br />
Smollett, who claims he did not know his attackers and that it was a racist and homophobic ambush, maintains he was telling the truth.</p>
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<h6 class="mobile-gallery-icon"><strong><img class="alignnone wp-image-308024" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Osundairo-brothers-5-300x202.png" alt="" width="893" height="601" />The Osundairo brothers, shown in a photo from their Instagram account that Smollett follows, wore black facemasks similar to samples they advertise online<br />
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<div class="mobile-gallery-icon"><img class="alignnone wp-image-308016" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Jussie-Smollett-threat-letter-1-300x220.png" alt="" width="824" height="604" /><strong>Planned hoax: The brothers said Smollett also sent himself this letter to the Fox studio a week before the attack </strong></div>
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<h6 class="mobile-gallery-icon"><strong> <img class="alignnone wp-image-308490" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Jussie-Smollet-email-to-himself-300x187.png" alt="" width="1016" height="633" />Smollett&#8217;s story unraveled is it emerged he follows the brothers&#8217; joint Instagram account where they post videos and photographs of themselves working out, despite telling cops he didn&#8217;t know his assailants<br />
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<div class="mobile-gallery-icon">Smollett said his attackers were wearing masks but there was not a description of a red hat in the initial reports. &#8211; Police seized a red hat from the brothers&#8217; home along with ski masks when they raided it last week.<br />
Police have since shared their belief that at least one of them was wearing a red hat at the time of the attack.<br />
Earlier on Wednesday, Kimberly Foxx, the Cook County State&#8217;s Attorney in charge of the case, recused herself because she spoke with members of Smollett&#8217;s family in the immediate aftermath of the attack.<br />
&#8216;Shortly after the incident occurred in late January, State&#8217;s Attorney Foxx had conversations with a family member of Jussie Smollett about the incident and their concerns, and facilitated a connection to the Chicago Police Department who were investigating the incident.<br />
&#8216;Based on those prior conversations and out of an abundance of caution, last week State&#8217;s Attorney Foxx decided to remove herself from the decision making in this matter and delegated it to her First Assistant Joseph Magats, a 28-year veteran prosecutor,&#8217; a spokesman for her office said.</div>
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<div class="mobile-gallery-icon"> <img class="alignnone wp-image-308494" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Abimbola-Osundairo-and-Olamide-Osundairo-11-300x225.png" alt="" width="1041" height="781" />Days after the attack Chicago PD released this still [image] captured by CCTV on the day of the attack allegedly showing brothers Abel and Ola on the night of the incident.<br />
For weeks, they did not know who they were but they honed in on the pair after tracking ride-sharing information from the night and the area.</div>
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<h6 class="mobile-gallery-icon"><img class="alignnone wp-image-308022" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Jussie-Smollett-3-300x249.png" alt="" width="757" height="628" /><strong>Was it all an act: Last Thursday, the actor wept as he said &#8216;who the f*** would make that up&#8217; when addressing the skepticism surrounding his version of events during an interview on Good Morning America</strong></h6>
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<div class="mobile-gallery-icon">Jussie Smollett&#8217;s story garnered support from activists, liberal politicians and fellow entertainers.<br />
The Empire producers on Wednesday said that contrary to swirling rumors the actor was not being written out despite the growing controversy.<br />
However, as days went by with no suspects on the horizon, details about the case and the police&#8217;s investigation into it began to cast doubt on Smollett&#8217;s version of events.<br />
One of the earliest sources of speculation was the fact that Smollett waited 42 minutes to call the police then refused to hand over his phone to the police for them to verify his story. He then handed over redacted files that police described as &#8216;insufficient&#8217;.</div>
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<h6 class="mobile-gallery-icon"><img class="alignnone wp-image-308496" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Kim-Foxx-1-223x300.png" alt="" width="684" height="920" /><strong>Cook County State&#8217;s Attorney Kim Foxx has recused herself because she spoke with a member of the victim&#8217;s family</strong></h6>
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<p class="mol-para-with-font">Frustrated with the coverage of his case, he hit out at the media for reporting on leaked information coming from within the Chicago police department and insisted he was the victim.<br />
He then went on Good Morning America to protest his innocence.<br />
In an hour-long interview with Robin Roberts, he wept as he recalled the attack and abhorred the reaction to it.<br />
Choking back tears, he explained when asked why it took so long for him to contact the authorities: &#8216;There is a level of pride there. We live in a society where as a gay man you are considered somehow to be weak and I am not weak. I am not weak and we as a people are not weak.&#8217;<br />
Later, he added how desperate he was for them to find footage of the attack.<br />
&#8216;I want that video found so badly because, for probably four reasons. &#8216;Number one, I want them to find the people that did it.<br />
&#8216;Number two, I want them to stop being able to say &#8216;alleged&#8217; attack.<br />
&#8216;Number three, I want them to see that I fought back,&#8217; he continued, welling-up.<br />
&#8216;I want a little gay boy who might watch this to see that I fought the f*** back. They ran off,&#8217; I didn&#8217;t,&#8217; he said.<br />
After it emerged that Smollett knew the brothers and may have been involved in the staging of the attack, the celebrities and politicians who rushed to support him walked back their claims.</p>

Actor Jussie Smollett charged for filing fake police report just hours after surveillance footage emerged of the brothers accused in alleged ‘attack’ buying black ski masks and a red hat
