Jussie Smollett Attack: Chicago police arrest two ‘persons of interest’ for battery
Chicago police have finally arrested two Nigerian brothers as suspects in the Jussie Smollett attack.
Two men have been arrested by the Chicago police in the Jussie Smollett assault investigation. According to TMZ, the two men are brothers of Nigerian decent, Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo who have also worked as extras on the set of Smollett’s hit show, “Empire.”
The police has reportedly arrested them for battery and are now considering them “potential suspects” in the case. This is a change from the today’s earlier depiction of them as “persons of interest.”
Here are the two Nigerian brothers Olabinjo Osundairo and Abimbola Osundairo who are at the center of the LGBT incident that happened in Chicago involving Jussie Smollett pic.twitter.com/iXzvk5Fcbu
— Tariq Nasheed ?? (@tariqnasheed) February 15, 2019
TMZ reports that several bottles of bleach as well as other pieces of potential evidence were found in the Osundairo brothers’ home after a police raid on Thursday. The brothers had just returned from Nigeria and were first picked upon their return to the States on Wednesday at Chicago’s O’Hare airport.
This evidence is significant because Smollett reported that his attackers put a noose around his neck and poured bleach on him during the incident. However, in his account, the 36-year old actor and singer said that the two masked men were white and yelled racist and homophobic slurs at him as they repeatedly punched him.
As this situation continues to get more confusing, Smollett will now be forced to identify the men in an official police lineup.
Both men have had guest roles on Chicago television shows and run businesses together. Abel is focused on bodybuilding and fitness. According to the Chicago Tribune, both Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo, who run a company together, have appeared on “Empire” as extras, which connects them directly to Smollett.
Earlier this week, Smollett appeared on Good Morning America for his first sit down interview where he told Robin Roberts that part of what’s been so painful is dealing with the critics who don’t want to believe the details of his assault.
TMZ first broke the news that the popular actor and singer was hospitalized after being attacked. According to Variety, the officers were informed that the actor “did not want to report the offense however he believed it to be in the best interest to.”
Smollett also said he believes that the men featured in the surveillance tape released after the attack are indeed the individuals the police are looking for, however, the police have yet to confirm that the Osundairo brothers are the men in that photo.
Both brothers are active on social media and describe themselves as actors and models.
Developing…
