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Jussie Smollett sent himself homophobic hate mail, then staged his ‘attack’ because he was not happy with his salary on Empire – Chicago police chief lampoons actor for setting back race and LGTB relations

&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpcnt">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpa">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<span class&equals;"wpa-about">Advertisements<&sol;span>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"u top&lowbar;amp">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<amp-ad width&equals;"300" height&equals;"265"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; type&equals;"pubmine"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-siteid&equals;"109460728"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-section&equals;"1">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;amp-ad>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div><h6><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi;"><strong>Jussie Smollett &&num;8216&semi;has set back race and LGTB relations&&num;8217&semi; &&num;8211&semi;&nbsp&semi;Chicago police chief Eddie T&period; Johnson<&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi;"><strong>Dissatisfied with his salary on Empire&comma; Smollett allegedly sent himself a threatening&comma; racist and homophobic letter on January 22 to get more money from 20th Century Fox<&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi;"><strong>When that tactic failed&comma; he next hired brothers Abimbola &&num;8216&semi;Abel&&num;8217&semi; and Olabinjo &&num;8216&semi;Ola&&num;8217&semi; Osundairo to stage a hate-laced attack him <&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi;"><strong>Smollett claimed his assailants called him a &&num;8216&semi;f&ast;&ast;&ast;&ast;t&&num;8217&semi; and &ast;n&ast;&ast;&ast;&ast;r&&num;8217&semi; and that they shouted &&num;8216&semi;This is MAGA country&excl;&&num;8217&semi; <&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi;"><strong>Police issued dozens of search warrants and scoured hundreds of hours of surveillance footage which led them to the brothers<&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi;"><strong>They tracked them down through their use of a ride-share on the night of the attack <&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi;"><strong>Smollett was in contact with them an hour before the incident and an hour afterwards and when they were in Nigeria&comma; laying low for two weeks<&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi;"><strong>When they returned on February 13&comma; they were picked up by police and later confessed &&num;8216&semi;the entire plot&&num;8217&semi; <&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi;"><strong>Smollett is in custody on felony charges of filing a false police report and disorderly conduct <&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi;"><strong>Police say he gave himself the scratches on his face that were visible in a hospital bed selfie after he had reported it the police&nbsp&semi; <&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi;"><strong>FBI are investigating the self-sent hate mail which&comma; if proven to be true&nbsp&semi; <span class&equals;"mol-style-bold"> could see him facing another 5-10 years in prison on a federal mail fraud charge<&sol;span><&sol;strong><br &sol;>&NewLine;<&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<div>&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"mol-para-with-font"><img class&equals;"alignnone wp-image-308156" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;02&sol;Jussie-Smollett-3-204x300&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" width&equals;"623" height&equals;"916"><strong>Chicago police reportedly have found phone records which prove Smollett &lbrack;photo&rsqb;&comma; spoke with brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo an hour before the attack&comma; an hour afterwards and while they were in Nigeria<&sol;strong><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"mol-para-with-font">Jussie Smollett was eviscerated by furious Chicago police bosses on Thursday who revealed that he mailed himself a threatening letter than <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;2019&sol;02&sol;21&sol;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&sol;&quest;preview&lowbar;id&equals;287245&amp&semi;preview&lowbar;nonce&equals;5c8a483756&amp&semi;preview&equals;true&amp&semi;&lowbar;thumbnail&lowbar;id&equals;308505">staged a hoax attack on himself<&sol;a> because he was unhappy with his Empire salary&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Jussie Smollett took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career&comma; Chicago Police Department Chief Superintendent Eddie T&period; Johnson said&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;<a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;ronmat96&period;ridtattoo&period;hop&period;clickbank&period;net&quest;tid&equals;applyeasycreamjar"><img src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;getridtattoo&period;com&sol;images&sol;ApplyEasyCreamJar&period;jpg" rel&equals;"prettyPhoto"><&sol;a><br &sol;>&NewLine;<a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;ronmat96&period;ridtattoo&period;hop&period;clickbank&period;net&quest;tid&equals;banner468x60"><img src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;getridtattoo&period;com&sol;images&sol;468x60getridtattoobanner&period;png" rel&equals;"prettyPhoto"><&sol;a><br &sol;>&NewLine;At an extraordinary press conference hours&comma; Chief Johnson abhorred him as a &&num;8216&semi;troubled young man&&num;8217&semi; who has &&num;8216&semi;taken advantage of the pain and anger of racism to further his career&&num;8217&semi; by lying that he was attacked by racist and homophobic assailants on January 29&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;<strong>Related&colon; <&sol;strong><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;2019&sol;02&sol;18&sol;actor-jussie-smollett-allegedly-rehearsed-hoax-attack-with-osundairo-brothers-paid-them-3500-to-assault-him&sol;" rel&equals;"bookmark">Actor Jussie Smollett allegedly rehearsed hoax attack with Osundairo brothers&comma; paid them &dollar;3&comma;500 to assault him<&sol;a><br &sol;>&NewLine;<a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;2019&sol;02&sol;18&sol;actor-jussie-smollett-allegedly-rehearsed-hoax-attack-with-osundairo-brothers-paid-them-3500-to-assault-him&sol;"><img class&equals;"attachment-loop wp-post-image jetpack-lazy-image jetpack-lazy-image--handled" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i2&period;wp&period;com&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;02&sol;Jussie-Smollett-Abimbola-Osundairo-and-Olamide-Osundairo-1&period;jpg&quest;resize&equals;174&percnt;2C131&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1" sizes&equals;"&lpar;max-width&colon; 174px&rpar; 100vw&comma; 174px" srcset&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i2&period;wp&period;com&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;02&sol;Jussie-Smollett-Abimbola-Osundairo-and-Olamide-Osundairo-1&period;jpg&quest;resize&equals;174&percnt;2C131&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1 174w&comma; https&colon;&sol;&sol;i2&period;wp&period;com&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;02&sol;Jussie-Smollett-Abimbola-Osundairo-and-Olamide-Osundairo-1&period;jpg&quest;resize&equals;300&percnt;2C225&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1 300w&comma; https&colon;&sol;&sol;i2&period;wp&period;com&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;02&sol;Jussie-Smollett-Abimbola-Osundairo-and-Olamide-Osundairo-1&period;jpg&quest;resize&equals;70&percnt;2C53&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1 70w&comma; https&colon;&sol;&sol;i2&period;wp&period;com&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;02&sol;Jussie-Smollett-Abimbola-Osundairo-and-Olamide-Osundairo-1&period;jpg&quest;zoom&equals;3&amp&semi;resize&equals;174&percnt;2C131&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1 522w" alt&equals;"" data-attachment-id&equals;"308173" data-permalink&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;2019&sol;02&sol;17&sol;&lowbar;&lowbar;trashed&sol;jussie-smollett-abimbola-osundairo-and-olamide-osundairo-1&sol;" data-orig-file&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i2&period;wp&period;com&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;02&sol;Jussie-Smollett-Abimbola-Osundairo-and-Olamide-Osundairo-1&period;jpg&quest;fit&equals;683&percnt;2C302&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1" data-orig-size&equals;"683&comma;302" data-comments-opened&equals;"1" data-image-meta&equals;"&lbrace;&quot&semi;aperture&quot&semi;&colon;&quot&semi;0&quot&semi;&comma;&quot&semi;credit&quot&semi;&colon;&quot&semi;ak Mathew&quot&semi;&comma;&quot&semi;camera&quot&semi;&colon;&quot&semi;&quot&semi;&comma;&quot&semi;caption&quot&semi;&colon;&quot&semi;&quot&semi;&comma;&quot&semi;created&lowbar;timestamp&quot&semi;&colon;&quot&semi;1550416019&quot&semi;&comma;&quot&semi;copyright&quot&semi;&colon;&quot&semi;&quot&semi;&comma;&quot&semi;focal&lowbar;length&quot&semi;&colon;&quot&semi;0&quot&semi;&comma;&quot&semi;iso&quot&semi;&colon;&quot&semi;0&quot&semi;&comma;&quot&semi;shutter&lowbar;speed&quot&semi;&colon;&quot&semi;0&quot&semi;&comma;&quot&semi;title&quot&semi;&colon;&quot&semi;&quot&semi;&comma;&quot&semi;orientation&quot&semi;&colon;&quot&semi;0&quot&semi;&rcub;" data-image-title&equals;"Jussie Smollett&comma; Abimbola Osundairo and Olamide Osundairo 1" data-image-description&equals;"" data-medium-file&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i2&period;wp&period;com&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;02&sol;Jussie-Smollett-Abimbola-Osundairo-and-Olamide-Osundairo-1&period;jpg&quest;fit&equals;300&percnt;2C133&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1" data-large-file&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i2&period;wp&period;com&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;02&sol;Jussie-Smollett-Abimbola-Osundairo-and-Olamide-Osundairo-1&period;jpg&quest;fit&equals;620&percnt;2C274&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1" data-lazy-loaded&equals;"1" width&equals;"90" height&equals;"68"><&sol;a><strong>Jussie Smollett may have orchestrated an assault on himself&comma; Chicago police say Brothers Olabinjo &OpenCurlyQuote;Ola’ Osundairo&comma; 27&comma; and Abimbola &OpenCurlyQuote;Abel’ Osundairo&comma; <&sol;strong><a title&equals;"Actor Jussie Smollett allegedly rehearsed hoax attack with Osundairo brothers&comma; paid them &dollar;3&comma;500 to assault him" href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;2019&sol;02&sol;18&sol;actor-jussie-smollett-allegedly-rehearsed-hoax-attack-with-osundairo-brothers-paid-them-3500-to-assault-him&sol;"><strong>&lbrack;&&num;8230&semi;&rsqb;<&sol;strong><&sol;a><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"mol-para-with-font">Smollett is paid &dollar;20&comma;000 per episode on Empire but&comma; according to the police&comma; wanted more so &&num;8216&semi;concocted&&num;8217&semi; the fake letter and attack in the hope that it would raise his profile and earn him more&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;<a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;ronmat96&period;fxexperts&period;hop&period;clickbank&period;net"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;wallstreet-forex&period;com&sol;images&sol;banners&sol;wsfr&lowbar;2&lowbar;evolution&lowbar;768x90&lowbar;1&period;jpg" rel&equals;"prettyPhoto"><&sol;a><br &sol;>&NewLine;His motive &&num;8216&semi;p&ast;&ast;&ast;&ast;d everybody off&&num;8217&semi;&comma; Superintendent Johnson said&comma; adding that Smollett&&num;8217&semi;s repeated &&num;8216&semi;lies&&num;8217&semi; were &&num;8216&semi;shameful&&num;8217&semi; and &&num;8216&semi;despicable&&num;8217&semi;&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Police have found phone records which prove Smollett spoke with brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo an hour before the attack&comma; an hour afterwards and while they were in Nigeria&comma; keeping their heads down&comma; while the case gained global attention&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"artSplitter mol-img-group">&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"imageCaption"><img class&equals;"alignnone wp-image-308514" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;02&sol;Eddie-T&period;-Johnson-1-300x216&period;png" alt&equals;"" width&equals;"717" height&equals;"516"><strong>Chicago PD Chief Superintendent Eddie T&period; Johnson at a press conference on Thursday described actor Jussie Smollett&&num;8217&semi;s repeated &&num;8216&semi;lies&&num;8217&semi; as &&num;8216&semi;shameful&&num;8217&semi; and &&num;8216&semi;despicable&&num;8217&semi;&nbsp&semi;<&sol;strong><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"mol-para-with-font">Jussie Smollett is shown in his mugshot on Thursday morning&period; The Empire actor handed himself in at 5am on charges of filing a false police report and disorderly conduct<br &sol;>&NewLine;Police say that on January 22&comma; Smollett mailed himself a threatening letter to the Empire studio in Chicago which had &&num;8216&semi;MAGA&&num;8217&semi; written on it and included racist and homophobic slurs&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;When that did not win him a pay rise from 20th Century Fox&comma; he allegedly hired the brothers to attack him at 2am on January 29 in what he then told police was a racist and homophobic attack&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;They punched him but Smollett gave himself the scratches on his face that were visible in a hospital-bed selfie he took after reporting it to police&comma; the Superintendent said&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;<strong>Related&colon;<&sol;strong>&nbsp&semi; <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;2019&sol;02&sol;21&sol;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&sol;" rel&equals;"bookmark">Actor Jussie Smollett charged for filing fake police report just hours after surveillance footage emerged of the brothers accused in alleged &OpenCurlyQuote;attack’ buying black ski masks and a red hat<&sol;a><br &sol;>&NewLine;<a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;2019&sol;02&sol;21&sol;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&sol;"><img class&equals;"attachment-loop wp-post-image jetpack-lazy-image jetpack-lazy-image--handled" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i1&period;wp&period;com&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;02&sol;Jussie-Smollett-12&period;png&quest;resize&equals;174&percnt;2C131&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1" sizes&equals;"&lpar;max-width&colon; 174px&rpar; 100vw&comma; 174px" srcset&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i1&period;wp&period;com&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;02&sol;Jussie-Smollett-12&period;png&quest;resize&equals;174&percnt;2C131&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1 174w&comma; https&colon;&sol;&sol;i1&period;wp&period;com&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;02&sol;Jussie-Smollett-12&period;png&quest;resize&equals;300&percnt;2C225&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1 300w&comma; https&colon;&sol;&sol;i1&period;wp&period;com&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;02&sol;Jussie-Smollett-12&period;png&quest;resize&equals;70&percnt;2C53&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1 70w&comma; https&colon;&sol;&sol;i1&period;wp&period;com&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;02&sol;Jussie-Smollett-12&period;png&quest;zoom&equals;3&amp&semi;resize&equals;174&percnt;2C131&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1 522w" alt&equals;"" data-attachment-id&equals;"308505" data-permalink&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;2019&sol;02&sol;21&sol;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&sol;jussie-smollett-12&sol;" data-orig-file&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i1&period;wp&period;com&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;02&sol;Jussie-Smollett-12&period;png&quest;fit&equals;677&percnt;2C320&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1" data-orig-size&equals;"677&comma;320" data-comments-opened&equals;"1" data-image-meta&equals;"&lbrace;&quot&semi;aperture&quot&semi;&colon;&quot&semi;0&quot&semi;&comma;&quot&semi;credit&quot&semi;&colon;&quot&semi;&quot&semi;&comma;&quot&semi;camera&quot&semi;&colon;&quot&semi;&quot&semi;&comma;&quot&semi;caption&quot&semi;&colon;&quot&semi;&quot&semi;&comma;&quot&semi;created&lowbar;timestamp&quot&semi;&colon;&quot&semi;0&quot&semi;&comma;&quot&semi;copyright&quot&semi;&colon;&quot&semi;&quot&semi;&comma;&quot&semi;focal&lowbar;length&quot&semi;&colon;&quot&semi;0&quot&semi;&comma;&quot&semi;iso&quot&semi;&colon;&quot&semi;0&quot&semi;&comma;&quot&semi;shutter&lowbar;speed&quot&semi;&colon;&quot&semi;0&quot&semi;&comma;&quot&semi;title&quot&semi;&colon;&quot&semi;&quot&semi;&comma;&quot&semi;orientation&quot&semi;&colon;&quot&semi;0&quot&semi;&rcub;" data-image-title&equals;"Jussie Smollett 12" data-image-description&equals;"" data-medium-file&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i1&period;wp&period;com&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;02&sol;Jussie-Smollett-12&period;png&quest;fit&equals;300&percnt;2C142&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1" data-large-file&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i1&period;wp&period;com&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;02&sol;Jussie-Smollett-12&period;png&quest;fit&equals;620&percnt;2C293&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1" data-lazy-loaded&equals;"1" width&equals;"84" height&equals;"63"><&sol;a><strong>Jussie Smollett was criminally charged on Wednesday night in Chicago for filing fake police report just hours after surveillance footage emerged of the Nigerian brothers <&sol;strong><a title&equals;"Actor Jussie Smollett charged for filing fake police report just hours after surveillance footage emerged of the brothers accused in alleged &OpenCurlyQuote;attack’ buying black ski masks and a red hat" href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;2019&sol;02&sol;21&sol;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&sol;"><strong>&lbrack;&&num;8230&semi;&rsqb;<&sol;strong><&sol;a><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"mol-para-with-font">While Smollett received an outpouring of sympathy from politicians&comma; celebrities and public figures around the world&comma; the brothers fled to Nigeria afterwards&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;They were tracked down through their use of taxis on the night of the incident and were picked up at Chcago&&num;8217&semi;s O&&num;8217&semi;Hara airport when they returned to Chicago on February 13&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;<iframe src&equals;"&sol;&sol;rcm-na&period;amazon-adsystem&period;com&sol;e&sol;cm&quest;o&equals;1&amp&semi;p&equals;48&amp&semi;l&equals;ur1&amp&semi;category&equals;kindlerotating&amp&semi;f&equals;ifr&amp&semi;linkID&equals;b710f109988fe5b382a7b95b8d56752c&amp&semi;t&equals;konniemomen0a-20&amp&semi;tracking&lowbar;id&equals;konniemomen0a-20" scrolling&equals;"no" border&equals;"0" marginwidth&equals;"0" style&equals;"border&colon;none&semi;" width&equals;"728" height&equals;"90" frameborder&equals;"0"><&sol;iframe><br &sol;>&NewLine;Once in custody&comma; they told police that Smollett had hired them and said it was because he wanted a higher salary&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The Osundairo brothers claim he paid them a reported &dollar;3&comma;500 to carry out the attack&comma; they said&comma; and promised them &dollar;500 more when they returned&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Smollett is in custody awaiting his first court appearance on felony charges of filing a false police report and disorderly conduct on Thursday afternoon&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"mol-para-with-font"><span class&equals;"mol-style-bold"><strong><img class&equals;"alignnone wp-image-308016" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;02&sol;Jussie-Smollett-threat-letter-1-300x220&period;png" alt&equals;"" width&equals;"1231" height&equals;"903">The brothers said Smollett also sent himself this letter to the Fox studio where Empire is filmed a week before the attack&period; If proven to be true&comma; he could face another 5-10 years in prison on a federal mail fraud charge<&sol;strong> <&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"mol-para-with-font">During the press conference&comma; Chief Johnson revealed Smollett&&num;8217&semi;s status&nbsp&semi; transisted from being treated as the victim in the case to a suspect when the brothers &&num;8216&semi;confessed&&num;8217&semi; the &&num;8216&semi;entire plot&&num;8217&semi; in the final hour of a 48 hour hold&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;That is when they&comma; in their lawyer&&num;8217&semi;s words&comma; &&num;8216&semi;manned up&&num;8217&semi; and revealed that they had been hired to carry out the attack by the actor himself&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Smollett actually furthered the investigation along by going on Good Morning America and confirming that the two people in a grainy surveillance footage still were the men who attacked him&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;<iframe src&equals;"&sol;&sol;rcm-na&period;amazon-adsystem&period;com&sol;e&sol;cm&quest;o&equals;1&amp&semi;p&equals;48&amp&semi;l&equals;ur1&amp&semi;category&equals;mac&amp&semi;banner&equals;0P715RANPJQMNW5YYR82&amp&semi;f&equals;ifr&amp&semi;linkID&equals;fd82abf5a90d867e9fcd97c6367c4a94&amp&semi;t&equals;konniemomen0a-20&amp&semi;tracking&lowbar;id&equals;konniemomen0a-20" scrolling&equals;"no" border&equals;"0" marginwidth&equals;"0" style&equals;"border&colon;none&semi;" width&equals;"728" height&equals;"90" frameborder&equals;"0"><&sol;iframe><br &sol;>&NewLine;He was unaware when he made the remark that Chicago PD had identified those men as the Osundairo brothers and that they had them in custody&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Addressing the media on Thursday&comma; Chief Johnson said &comma; &&num;8216&semi;I come to you today not only as the Superintendent of Chicago Police Department but as a black man who has spent his entire life living in the city of Chicago&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8216&semi;I know the racial divide&period; I know how hard it has been for our city and our nation to come together&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"artSplitter mol-img-group">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"mol-img">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"image-wrap fff-pic">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"overlay-icon mobile-gallery">&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"mol-para-with-font"><img class&equals;"alignnone wp-image-308002" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;02&sol;Jussie-Smollett-1-256x300&period;png" alt&equals;"" width&equals;"1260" height&equals;"1477"><strong>Smollett allegedly cut his own cheek to make it look like he had suffered injuries in the attack&period; He is shown in a hospital bed selfie FaceTiming Lee Daniels&comma; the show&&num;8217&semi;s creator&comma; hours after the attack<br &sol;>&NewLine;<&sol;strong><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<p>Chief Superintendent Eddie T&period; Johnson tore through Smollett at a press conference on Thursday where he labeled him &&num;8216&semi;shameful&&num;8217&semi; and &&num;8216&semi;despicable&&num;8217&semi;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8216&semi;Empire actor Jussie Smollett took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8216&semi;I&&num;8217&semi;m left hanging my head and asking why&quest; Why would anyone&comma; especially an African American man&comma; use the symbolism of a noose to make false accusations&quest;<br &sol;>&NewLine;When we discovered the actual motive&comma; it p&ast;&ast;&ast;&ast;d everybody off<br &sol;>&NewLine;Chicago Police Department Chief Superintendent Eddie T&period; Johnson<br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8216&semi;How could someone look at the hatred and suffering associated with that symbol and see it as an opportunity to manipulate his own public profile&quest;&&num;8217&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;Superintendent Johnson said&comma; adding it was a &&num;8216&semi;slap in the face&nbsp&semi;&&num;8216&semi; to &&num;8216&semi;everyone&&num;8217&semi; in Chicago&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Smollett has not made any statements since he was taken into custody&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;His lawyers said on Wednesday night that he would fight the charges with an &&num;8216&semi;aggressive defense&&num;8217&semi;&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;In previous statements&comma; his representatives have angrily hit out at the media and insisted that he is the victim&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"mol-img-group floatRHS">&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"imageCaption"><img class&equals;"alignnone wp-image-308022" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;02&sol;Jussie-Smollett-3-300x249&period;png" alt&equals;"" width&equals;"959" height&equals;"796"><strong>Appearing on &&num;8216&semi;Good Morning America&&num;8217&semi; last Thursday&comma; the actor wept as he said &&num;8216&semi;who the f&ast;&ast;&ast; would make that up&&num;8217&semi; when addressing the skepticism surrounding his version of events<&sol;strong><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"mol-para-with-font">Police say Smollett cut his own cheek to make it look like he had suffered injuries in the attack&period; He is shown in a hospital bed selfie FaceTiming Lee Daniels&comma; the show&&num;8217&semi;s creator&comma; hours after the attack&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Within hours of him being charged&comma; Smollett&&num;8217&semi;s attorneys arranged for him to hand himself in quietly at Chicago&&num;8217&semi;s 1st District afterwards&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;He appeared in his mugshot wearing a black puffer jacket&comma; staring blankly at the camera&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;After&nbsp&semi;being processed at the station&comma; he was transferred to the Cook County courthouse where he will appear at 1&period;30pm&period;&nbsp&semi;He is being held separately from other detainees&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;20th Century Fox&comma; which released a statement hours before he was charged to say it was standing by him&comma; is now reportedly suspending the actor&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;A press conference is scheduled for 9am CT during which detectives will give more details about the arrest&period;&nbsp&semi;It is not yet known where he was or what time he was taken into custody&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8216&semi;Like any other citizen&comma; Mr&period; Smollett enjoys the presumption of innocence&comma; particularly when there has been an investigation like this one where information&comma; both true and false&comma; has been repeatedly leaked&comma;&&num;8217&semi; the actor&&num;8217&semi;s attorneys Todd Pugh and Victor Henderson said&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"artSplitter mol-img-group">&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"imageCaption"><img class&equals;"alignnone wp-image-308486" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;02&sol;Abimbola-Osundairo-and-Olamide-Osundairo-7-300x191&period;png" alt&equals;"" width&equals;"1213" height&equals;"772"><strong>Surveillance footage emerged on Wednesday showing&nbsp&semi;Ola and Abel Osundairo buying ski masks the day before&comma; all items used in the attack<&sol;strong><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"mol-para-with-font">&&num;8216&semi;Given these circumstances&comma; we intend to conduct a thorough investigation and to mount an aggressive defense&period;&&num;8217&semi;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The Osundairo brothers testified before the grand jury for about two and a half hours on Wednesday&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Addressing reporters outside afterwards&comma; their attorney Gloria Schmidt said they&&num;8217&semi;d &&num;8216&semi;manned up&&num;8217&semi; by speaking out against Smollett&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;They have not been arrested or charged and their lawyer said they had not been offered any form of immunity deal in exchange for testifying against Smollett&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;There was a point where this story needed to be told and they manned up and they said&comma; &&num;8220&semi;we&&num;8217&semi;re going to correct this&&num;8221&semi;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Gloria Schmidt&comma; lawyer for&nbsp&semi; brothers said&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8216&semi;Plea deal&comma; immunity&comma; all of that — they don&&num;8217&semi;t&&num;8217&semi; care about that&period;&&num;8217&semi;<br &sol;>&NewLine;She said that Smollett was lying&comma; and that she didn&&num;8217&semi;t know how his conscience could let him sleep at night&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8216&semi;I think Jussie&&num;8217&semi;s conscience is not letting him sleep right now and he should unload that conscience and come out and tell the American people what happened&comma;&&num;8217&semi; she added&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"mol-para-with-font"><strong><img class&equals;"alignnone wp-image-307995" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;02&sol;Abimbola-Abel-Osundairo-left-and-Olabinjo-Ola-Osundairo-right-2-300x192&period;png" alt&equals;"" width&equals;"1423" height&equals;"911">&&num;8216&semi;There was a point where this story needed to be told&comma; and they manned up and they said&colon; &&num;8220&semi;We&&num;8217&semi;re gonna correct this&comma;&&num;8221&semi; the brothers&&num;8217&semi; attorney said<br &sol;>&NewLine;<&sol;strong><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"mol-para-with-font">&&num;8216&semi;I think the biggest thing for the American people to know&period; Is that this story&comma; has a lot of complications to it&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8216&semi;We&&num;8217&semi;re not trying to hide anything from the press&period; But we wanted to make sure that everything checked out&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8216&semi;When I say that the police spent countless man-hours trying to piece this together&comma; I mean that&comma; I absolutely mean that&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8216&semi;When I say that my clients spent countless hours getting their story out there to the police so that they could do their work&comma; I mean that&comma; too&comma;&&num;8217&semi; she said&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The brothers&&num;8217&semi; testimony came after footage emerged of them buying ski masks&comma; a red hat and gloves in a store the day before the attack&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;

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