Hate Crime: "Empire" actor attacked by masked men shouting 'MAGA country'

A_Thinker

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From ... Persons of interest in Jussie Smollett attack captured on camera, police say

Chicago police officials say they plan to release surveillance images Wednesday evening that show two “persons of interest” in the alleged racist and homophobic attack on “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett.

Police say the two individuals are wanted for questioning as detectives continue to investigate Tuesday’s brutal incident as a hate crime.

Until Wednesday evening, police had said detectives did not have enough information to release a description of Smollett’s two assailants despite reviewing hundreds of hours of video from the surrounding area.

Smollett was the target of the reported attack around 2 a.m. Tuesday as he was walking back to an apartment after a late-night meal at a Subway restaurant at 511 N. McClurg Court, police said.

Two men yelled racist and homophobic slurs at Smollett in the 300 block of East North Lower Water Street, before they hit him in the face, poured what is suspected to be bleach on him and put a rope around his neck, Smollett told police.

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After describing the attackers as men wearing ski-masks and all black clothing in an initial report filed with police, Smollett told detectives in a follow-up interview that the men yelled “this is MAGA country” after they assaulted him.

Smollett was treated for lacerations to his face and neck at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and later released.

The block where the attack took place has parking garage entrances but no retail businesses. Police recovered video from various business, residential and police cameras in the wider area, but none until Wednesday showed any possible suspects. Surveillance camera at the Subway shows Smollett at the restaurant.

More than a dozen police detectives, some specializing in hate crimes, are working the case. They asked anyone with who has information or witnessed the attack to call detectives at (312) 747-8382 or submit an anonymous tip at cpdtip.com.

Congressman Bobby Rush on Wednesday wrote a letter to the FBI asking the bureau to open a hate crime investigation into the attack.

“As you are aware, crimes of this nature strike fear at the very core of a community and have a long-lasting impact on its members,” Rush wrote to FBI Director Christopher Wray. “They are, therefore, rightfully characterized as hate crimes.”

The FBI is already investigating a letter sent on Jan. 22 to Fox and “Empire” offices that used “threatening language” toward Smollett, police said. The letter was laced with some type of white, powdery substance, according to a police spokesman.

A celebrity website, GrapeJuice.net, published a picture of the letter with the words, “You will die black f–,” written in letters apparently cut from magazines.

The FBI has declined to comment on the case.
 
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Ana the Ist

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Yeah...don't feel bad. I don't think you are the only one who thought that at all. The survellance cameras have all been watched and there are gaps in it.
But now....since it's not on the subway, let's revisit the premeditation possibility:

1) Is this subway on/near his house/an area he frequents? If the same group of people targetted him once before, well that doesn't bode well for this being isolated.
2) No reason to think that the individuals (assuming premeditation) would be able get an idea of where the security cameras are or are not in a given area.

As far as I'm concerned, dude ended up in the hospital and so, while specifics may be unclear, at THIS point, I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt. That's not to say I think it's impossible this was a hoax, but I'm willing to side with the victim on this one.

Ok.
 
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essentialsaltes

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TMZ and others have posted images apparently of the letter that was sent to Smollett at the studio. It appears to have MAGA as the return address. It also features a naughty word and very poorly executed artwork of Smollett being hanged from a tree(?), so no link.

Seems likely the incidents are connected.
 
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Ironhold

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Odd...

Chicago police say 'Empire' actor Jussie Smollett refuses to hand over cellphone to them

I just read another article about how he said he was cooperating with the police. I'm sure it's nothing.

Internet reporter Tim Pool's been watching this one closely as he's a Chicago native.

Pool's saying that the area where Smollett was attacked in is generally deserted at that hour; there might be skateboarders out in warmer weather, but that's it.

This raises the prospect that either these people *knew* he was going to specifically be in this area at that hour - raising questions about how they knew - or that something funny's going on.
 
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Radagast

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Paidiske

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red-strawberry-hat-wool-beret-girls-winter-wear20667.jpg

MOD HAT ON
This thread has had a very extensive clean.
Please stay on topic henceforth.

MOD HAT OFF
 
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essentialsaltes

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TMZ and others have posted images apparently of the letter that was sent to Smollett at the studio. It appears to have MAGA as the return address. It also features a naughty word and very poorly executed artwork of Smollett being hanged from a tree(?), so no link.

Seems likely the incidents are connected.

Still naughty, so still no link. But anonymous sources are providing a possible connection.

Jussie Smollett Case: Clues Into Potential Motive Behind The Attack

“Empire” actor Jussie Smollett, upset after a racist letter sent to the show’s studio didn’t get a “bigger reaction,” is suspected of paying two men to attack him a week later, according to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the investigation.
 
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SummerMadness

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Still naughty, so still no link. But anonymous sources are providing a possible connection.

Jussie Smollett Case: Clues Into Potential Motive Behind The Attack

“Empire” actor Jussie Smollett, upset after a racist letter sent to the show’s studio didn’t get a “bigger reaction,” is suspected of paying two men to attack him a week later, according to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the investigation.
It's an interesting turn, it speaks to attitudes in this country; if he staged the attack, it speaks to the desire to demand greater attention to topics of bigotry and discrimination (though completely the wrong way to go about it). But it also speaks to the obliviousness and acceptance that people have toward intolerance if an anonymous hateful letter was given a ho-hum response.
 
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Shiloh Raven

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As it turns out this attack never happened. I guess I was right when I said...

I'm going to go out on a limb here and advise us all to be carefully mindful of what happened the last time MAGA was mentioned in news reports. It involved MAGA hats and white teenage boys. I think we should wait for the whole story to unfold properly before we judge what allegedly happened.
 
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Ignatius the Kiwi

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It's an interesting turn, it speaks to attitudes in this country; if he staged the attack, it speaks to the desire to demand greater attention to topics of bigotry and discrimination (though completely the wrong way to go about it). But it also speaks to the obliviousness and acceptance that people have toward intolerance if an anonymous hateful letter was given a ho-hum response.

As long as it spreads awareness I guess hoaxes are okay.
 
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RestoreTheJoy

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As it turns out this attack never happened. I guess I was right when I said...
It didn't make sense from the beginning, given the area, and the sub zero cold. Just another hater who got outed.
 
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Shiloh Raven

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Sadly most aren't hoaxes . And this stuff happens all the time.

Sadly, it is true that most of the stories of a racial attack are hoaxes, but these fake attacks greatly diminish the stories of a racial attack that actually did happen. It's like the story of the Boy Who Cried Wolf. If Jussie Smollett is ever actually attacked as he claims he was this time, then there will be a lot of skepticism and no one will believe him. It was beyond irresponsible and stupid of him to orchestrate this alleged attack. He deserves to be shamed. I hope he is punished to the full extent of the law.
 
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SummerMadness

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Jussie Smollett Charged With Faking His Own Assault
Smollett, the “Empire” actor who said he was the victim of a hate crime, was indicted Wednesday night by an Illinois grand jury that found probable cause that he had actually staged the assault he reported to Chicago police in January.

Law enforcement officials said a grand jury had decided that Mr. Smollett falsely reported being attacked in a case that quickly drew national attention, and charged him with a felony count of disorderly conduct.
 
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SummerMadness

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Charges dropped against Jussie Smollett in attack case
All charges have been dropped against Jussie Smollett in the latest shocking development in the "Empire" actor’s case.

His lawyers confirmed that the criminal charges were dropped Tuesday in a statement saying Smollett's "record has been wiped clean of the filing of this tragic complaint against him."

It looks like he's been exonerated...
 
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Rion

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