BREAKING NEWS: Jussie Smollett now considered a suspect for filing false police report

Fallen Empire star now in the hot seat as the mastermind behind his own attack

Actor Jussie Smollett on Wednesday is now a suspect in the investigation regarding his alleged assault that took place in the early hours in Chicago on Jan. 29th.

Feb 20, 2019
Jussie Smollett thegrio.com
Jussie Smollett attends the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's 60th Anniversary Opening Night Gala Benefit at New York City Center on November 28, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images)

It’s official. Actor Jussie Smollett on Wednesday is now considered a suspect in the investigation regarding his alleged assault that took place in the early hours in Chicago on Jan. 29th.

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Chicago police spokesman, Anthony Guglielmi wrote on Twitter:

Case Update: Jussie Smollett is now officially classified as a suspect in a criminal investigation by #ChicagoPolice for filing a false police report (Class 4 felony). Detectives are currently presenting evidence before a Cook County Grand Jury.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Empire star’s representatives declined to comment.  

Read More: Chicago prosecutor recuses herself from Jussie Smollett case

This news comes just a day after Guglielmi released a statement Tuesday dismissing a tip that was received revealing that Smollett and the accomplices were in an elevator in the building on the same night of the attack since it did not support video evidence.

Since the incident, investigators have gone through hundreds of hours of surveillance video from where the entertainer said he was attack, but they have not found footage of him being assaulted.

Two men were identified as suspects,  Abimbola “Abel” and Olabinjo “Ola” Osundairo were questioned last week, and based on the information that was provided by them to Guglielmi, it has “shifted the trajectory of the investigation.”

Read More: Sen. Kamala Harris says she won’t comment on Jussie Smollett investigation until investigation is complete

An increasing number of reports are leading to the belief that the alleged attack was a hoax, but Smollett’s lawyers said the actor is angry at those claims. He feels “victimized” by reports that he was involved in setting up in the attack.

“Nothing is further from the truth and anyone claiming otherwise is lying,” attorneys representing Smollett from Pugh and Henderson said in a statement Saturday.

Spokeswoman for Smollett’s lawyers, Anne Kavanagh said that the actor is “keeping an active dialogue with Chicago police on his behalf.”

On Tuesday, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, and Chicago’s top prosecutor recused herself from the investigation. This also comes as surveillance video of the two brothers has been made public by TMZ, showing the Osundario brothers purchasing ski masks, red hats and other items from a local store that were allegedly used in the staged attack.

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