Not Looking Good for Jussie Smollet

It's an affluent area and there would be little foot traffic at that hour. There are restaurants and a movie theater but neither would be open at that time. The bars are further north. I've never felt unsafe in that area and I'm in walking distance and have been so for over 20 years. I don't know if this is arranged but it's pretty far fetched for the neighborhood.

A friend of mine follows this stuff very closely and he said the actor is in trouble, that it is obvious its a false allegation...

Kinda amazes me that in this day and age of 24/7 surveillance that you think you can get away with fabricating a story like this...

Steve Petersen said:

Police are questioning the 'persons of interest' from video surveillance cameras. They are both African-American, and one of them has a connection to the actor.

Chicago police questioning ‘persons of interest’ in alleged attack on Jussie Smollett

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Yeah....the police have been careful to say clearly they are still investigating this as Jessie being a victim. Yet their actions seem to show they're exploring other leads.

dgiharris said:

A friend of mine follows this stuff very closely and he said the actor is in trouble, that it is obvious its a false allegation...

Kinda amazes me that in this day and age of 24/7 surveillance that you think you can get away with fabricating a story like this...

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We don't know it's fabricated. That's still speculation.

I will say the worst thing I've heard was in an article that interviewed people from the neighborhood. It seems like an extremely common opinion that it didn't happen as he said. I think one person said that half that area is black....the other half gay....

Which could just mean his attackers are from somewhere else. It's not looking good though.

Chicago Police have dismissed reports that an attack on Empire actor Jussie Smollett was a hoax.

Local media reports about the attack being staged are "unconfirmed", Chicago police's chief communications officer said. "We have no evidence to support their reporting."

Superintendent Eddie Johnson has contacted local media in Chicago to tell them their "supposed" Chicago Police sources are "uninformed and inaccurate".

Obviously, it's a somewhat neutral statement. Saying that the hoax theory is unconfirmed is not saying it's disconfirmed, but presumably the investigation is ongoing.

I'm not ready for the tar and feathers yet. I'm waiting to hear that it's a hoax from a more prominent and trustworthy source.

If it turns out to be a hoax, fine. But these kind of things seem ripe for bad actors making stuff up and getting it to the press to discredit Smollett, so I'll withhold judgment.
Ringo

I'm hearing that the two "people of interest" had been actors on the show at one point and that he'd been on the phone with them before the attack, raising the prospect that the attack was actually the two attacking him as part of an existing beef.

essentialsaltes said:

"We have no evidence to support their reporting."

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That seems to be their mantra with this whole case, and rightly so.

There is insufficient evidence to conclude that it was staged.

There is insufficient evidence to conclude it was a genuine racist/homophobic attack.

There would appear to be some evidence (although once again, not sufficient) that there might have been some (presumably disgruntled) former coworkers involved.

The police are trying to obtain any and all evidence. Until that happens (if it does) all there is is choosing whichever hypothesis fits our respective political bias.

The men in question are Nigerian, not African American. There's a difference, kind of like when they described the unrest in France many years ago as being carried out by African Americans.

Steve Petersen said:

Police are questioning the 'persons of interest' from video surveillance cameras. They are both African-American, and one of them has a connection to the actor.

Chicago police questioning ‘persons of interest’ in alleged attack on Jussie Smollett

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Would this be about the 20th such staged attack by alleged Trump supporters to hit the news as a big scandal only to be shown later on to have been phony?

Albion said:

Would this be about the 20th such staged attack by alleged Trump supporters to hit the news as a big scandal only to be shown later on to have been phony?

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Good use of hyperbole, but there was the MAGA bomber last fall. There were also videos of people like that guy screaming Donald Trump at a Muslim family. Most cases like this are real, there are hoaxes, but they are no more common than lies about other crimes.

SummerMadness said:

Good use of hyperbole,

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No, I saw a list the other day, and I may have erred by using a number here that is actually too low.

Albion said:

No, I saw a list the other day, and I may have erred by using a number here that is actually too low.

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You saw a list of all hate crime incidents from last year and they are mostly lies? Or you saw a list of hoaxes, which is not comprehensive, thus you cannot quantify any anything?

SummerMadness said:

You saw a list of all hate crime incidents from last year and they are mostly lies? Or you saw a list of hoaxes, which is not comprehensive, thus you cannot quantify any anything?

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Of course we can quantify the instances. That is what I was referring to.

Albion said:

Of course we can quantify the instances. That is what I was referring to.

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I didn't ask if you can quantify them, I am asking if your statement is based on an actual analysis as opposed to a list that does not give you a wider context.

Albion said:

No, I saw a list the other day, and I may have erred by using a number here that is actually too low.

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From Daily Caller? Breitbart?

USincognito said:

From Daily Caller? Breitbart?

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Who do you think would be likely to compile such a list? Probably a pro-Trump source.

Unnamed sources, but I'm starting to side with the OP. Let's see what Chicago PD say officially.

Chicago (CNN)Two law enforcement sources with knowledge of the investigation tell CNN that Chicago Police believe actor Jussie Smollet paid two men to orchestrate an assault on him that he reported late last month.

The men, who are brothers, were arrested Wednesday but released without charges Friday after Chicago police cited the discovery of "new evidence."
The sources told CNN the two men are now cooperating fully with law enforcement.

Focus of Jussie Smollett assault investigation has ‘shifted,’ Chicago police say

In a statement Saturday night, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the information was received in interviews with two individuals who were questioned by police and that the department has reached out to Smollett’s attorney to request a follow-up interview.