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This news article from the Chicago Tribune provides a timeline of the Jussie Smollett case briefing each moment, with the exact dates, of the saga. It unfolds from the moment Jussie filed a hate crime to him being accused of a false report (January 30th - March 14th) Due to the fact that investigations are still in process, the whole story is quite complex but the article shortened and simplified it, only keying major parts of the story. This is good for readers who don't feel like spending a lot of time reading, only grasping information needed. Another good thing about this article is that it's from a credible news source. readers Facts and data are legitimate which it's good enough for who are seeking accurate information.

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Actor Jussie Smollett told Chicago police in January that two men attacked him near his apartment building in Streeterville, slipping a noose around his neck and yelling racial and homophobic slurs. More than three weeks later, authorities said they believed Smollett was lying and charged him with disorderly conduct, alleging he filed a false police report.

Here are some key moments in the unfolding saga:

Jan. 22

- The week before he says he was attacked in Streeterville, Smollett reported receiving an envelope addressed to him at production studios on Chicago's West Side. The envelope was postmarked in southwest suburban Bedford Park four days earlier, on Jan. 18. The letters "MAGA" were written, in red ink, in the return address section of the envelope. Smollett told police he and the show's executive producer used gloves to open the envelope. Inside was a threat in cut-out letters: "You will die black (expletive)." There was white powder in the envelope, but it was determined to be crushed pain reliever, according to police.

Jan. 29

- Smollett reports he was attacked by two men while out getting food from a Subway sandwich shop around 2 a.m. The actor, black and openly gay, said he was walking back to his apartment in the 300 block of East North Water Street when two men walked up, yelled racial and homophobic slurs, declared "This is MAGA country," hit him and wrapped a noose around his neck.

Jan. 30

- Chicago police report they have at least a dozen detectives reviewing hundreds of hours of surveillance camera footage, including of Smollett walking downtown, but none of the videos show the attack. Police release images of two people in the area at the time whom they would like to question. The two people were captured by a surveillance camera on New Street near Illinois Street between 1:30 and 1:45 a.m. Smollett said he was attacked about 15 to 30 minutes later around the corner. The images, however, are dark, and faces indistinguishable.

- Reports of Smollett's attack draw outrage and support on social media, including from U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris of California, U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush of Chicago and openly gay TV host Ellen DeGeneres.

Jan. 31

- Trump tells reporters at the White House that he saw a story the evening before about Smollett and that, "It doesn't get worse, as far as I'm concerned."

- Despite the support of celebrities and politicians, skepticism continues to grow on social media. Smollett's family issues a statement calling the attack a racial and homophobic hate crime. The family says he "has told the police everything" and "his story has never changed," disputing assertions on social media that he has been less than cooperative and has changed his story.

Feb. 1

- Smollett issues a statement telling people that he is OK and thanking them for their support. He says he is working with authorities and has been "100 percent factual and consistent on every level."

Feb. 2

- Smollett gives a concert in West Hollywood, Calif., his first performance since the reported attack. "I had to be here tonight, y'all. I can't let (them) win," he said, visibly fighting tears. "I have so many words in my heart. The most important thing I have to say is thank you so much and that I'm OK. I'm not fully healed yet, but I'm going to. And I'm gonna stand strong with y'all." Smollett also said he had to play the show because he "couldn't let his attackers win."

Feb. 12

- Chicago police say Smollett turned over some, but not all, of the phone records that the detectives requested as part of their investigation. Smollett has said his music manager was on the phone with him at the time of the attack and can corroborate this story. But police say the heavily redacted files aren't sufficient. Smollett says the information was redacted to protect the privacy of contacts and people not relevant to the attack.

Feb. 14

- Smollett gives a national television interview on "Good Morning America," seeking to put doubts to rest about whether he was attacked. "You do such a disservice when you lie about things like this," Smollett told "GMA" co-anchor Robin Roberts. "I've heard that it was a date gone bad, which I so resent that narrative," he told Roberts. "I'm not gonna go out and get a tuna sandwich and a salad to meet somebody. That's ridiculous. And it's offensive." He says he is convinced that the men in the surveillance images were his attackers. "I don't have any doubt in my mind that that's them. Never did."

- Chicago police announce hours later that detectives are interviewing the two "persons of interest" captured on video. A law enforcement source said the two men, brothers in their 20s, were brought in for questioning Wednesday night from O'Hare International Airport after arriving from Nigeria. One of them worked as an extra on "Empire," the source said.

- Chicago police later say local media reports that the attack against Smollett was a hoax are unconfirmed.

- Producers of "Empire" dispute media reports that Smollett's character was being written off the show.

Feb. 15

- Early in the day, Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi says the two "persons of interest" are now considered potential suspects. He says the men are in custody but have not been charged with a crime.

- Twelve hours later, police release the brothers, saying they no longer were considered suspects. "Due to new evidence as a result of today's interrogations, the individuals questioned by police in the Empire case have now been released without charging and detectives have additional investigative work to complete," Guglielmi said in a tweet. He did not say what the evidence was or what work detectives still must do.

Feb. 16

- A law enforcement source says Chicago police are now investigating whether Smollett paid the two brothers to stage an attack, following up on information provided by the two while they were in custody. Investigators also have been given new details about the rope that Smollett said was made into a noose and placed around his neck as he walked toward his apartment in the 300 block of East North Water Street, the source said. Detectives had been searching area retailers to find the source of the rope but the new information allowed them to narrow their search and find where it was sold, the source said.

- The attorney for the brothers, Gloria Schmidt, is asked whether Smollett set up the attack. "There's still a lot of moving parts to this. ... I'm not part of Jussie's defense," she said. "I'm not part of what's going on with him. I can just tell you that my guys (are) innocent of the charge and they're going home."

- The actor issues a strongly worded statement late Saturday insisting the attack happened. "Jussie Smollett is angered and devastated by recent reports that the perpetrators are individuals he is familiar with. He has been further victimized by claims attributed to these alleged perpetrators that Jussie played a role in his own attack. Nothing is further from the truth." The statement said one of the brothers was Smollett's personal trainer, the first time he has acknowledged knowing either of them. The two also reportedly worked with Smollett on "Empire."

Feb. 19

- In another twist in the investigation, Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx recuses herself from the case as prosecutors in her office began questioning two brothers who had been possible suspects. Foxx says she made the decision "out of an abundance of caution" because of her "familiarity with potential witnesses in the case."

- Hours before Foxx's statement, the two brothers who had been under arrest appeared at the criminal courthouse to talk to prosecutors and detectives, authorities said. They and their attorney were seen near the grand jury rooms Tuesday afternoon, but police said they did not appear before it.

Feb. 20

-Smollett was charged with disorderly conduct for allegedly filing a false police report about the attack, the Cook County state's attorney's office said. Hours earlier, the Chicago Police Department announced that Smollett was officially classified as a suspect in a criminal investigation for filing a false police report, a felony.

- New details emerge about why Foxx recused herself: In a statement, one her aides says the Cook County state's attorney "had conversations with a family member of Jussie Smollett about the incident" after the initial report of the attack and "facilitated a connection to the Chicago Police Department who were investigating the incident."

- Former Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez, whom Foxx defeated in 2016 to win the chief prosecutor job, takes a shot at Foxx on Facebook for her recusal. Alvarez writes, "Maybe I should have just recused myself from the difficult cases that came across my desk when I was state's attorney. I was under the impression that when the voters elected me and I took my oath of office it meant I had to do my job."

- Before Smollett was called a suspect, Fox television says Smollett "continues to be a consummate professional on set," and it has reiterated that he is not being written out of the show.

Feb. 21

- Smollett surrenders to Chicago police and is arrested in the early morning hours. He is booked and his mug shot is taken.

- In a forceful news conference, Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson says Smollett faked both the threatening letter and the attack because "he was dissatisfied with his salary" on the show. Johnson, who is African-American, calls the alleged hoax "despicable" and says Smollett "dragged Chicago's reputation through the mud." He also reprimands the assembled media for not paying as much attention to each case of gun violence in the city as has been paid to the Smollett case.

- A Cook County prosecutor reads the state's detailed case - known as a proffer - to assembled media at the Leighton Criminal Court Building.

- An African-American Cook County judge, noting the presumption of innocence, rebukes Smollett while setting his bond at $100,000. Smollett will have to post $10,000 cash and surrender his passport to leave lock-up, which he posts later in the afternoon and is released.

- Smollett heads to the "Empire" set at studios on the West Side, where cast members and crew are shooting the final episodes of Season 5. His legal team releases a statement slamming police and maintaining Smollett's innocence: "The presumption of innocence, a bedrock in the search for justice, was trampled upon at the expense of Mr. Smollett and notably, on the eve of a mayoral election. Mr. Smollett is a young man of impeccable character and integrity who fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence and feels betrayed by a system that apparently wants to skip due process and proceed directly to sentencing."

Feb. 22

- "Empire" executive producers announce Smollett will not appear in the final episodes of the show's fifth season, saying in a statement, "We have decided to remove the role of 'Jamal' from the final two episodes of the season."

Feb. 25

- In an interview on "Good Morning America," Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson disputed media reports that the thousands of dollars "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett paid two brothers was actually for personal training and nutrition, not for staging a phony racist and anti-gay attack. Johnson said there is more evidence against Smollett that hasn't been disclosed yet.

March 8

- A Cook County grand jury indicts Smollett on 16 counts of disorderly conduct for allegedly lying to police about being the victim of a racist and homophobic attack. Smollett's attorney said the new charges, which came a little more than two weeks after Smollett was charged with a single felony count, are overkill.

March 13

- According to texts and emails provided to the Tribune, State's Attorney Foxx asked Chicago police Superintendent Johnson to turn over the investigation of Smollett's reported attack to the FBI at the urging of a politically connected lawyer. The exchanges began Feb. 1, three days after Smollett claimed he was attacked near his Streeterville apartment building. The released texts stopped on Feb. 13, the same day a memo was sent out by Foxx's office saying that she "is recused" from the Smollett investigation.

March 14

-Smollett pleads not guilty to the 16 counts of disorderly conduct in front of Cook County Judge Steven Watkins, a Howard and DePaul University graduate with a background in criminal defense work.

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Associated Press and Chicago Tribune staff

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What happened? A timeline of the Jussie Smollett case

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Actor Jussie Smollett told Chicago police in January that two men attacked him near his apartment building in Streeterville, slipping a noose around his neck and yelling racial and homophobic slurs. More than three weeks later, authorities said they believed Smollett was lying and charged him with disorderly conduct, alleging he filed a false police report.

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This blog post which I found was relevant to the Jussie Smollett case talks about the allegations that surfaced around that Jussie may have orchestrated his own hate crime. The writer, Katie Herzog, starts off by mentioning Joe Jervis, writer of Joe. My. God, who has been covering LGBT+ related news and events for 15 years. She explains how she asked him for his thoughts and opinion then quoted his responses. Furthermore, she then talks about the on-going debate between the left (who believes Jussie) and the right (who believes that allegations are true). This blog is overall thought-provoking, it engages readers to the topic.

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The news that Empire star Jussie Smollett may have orchestrated his own hate crime certainly came as a shock to much of America. Joe Jervis, however, wasn't exactly surprised.

Jervis, creator of the news blog Joe.My.God, has been covering LGBTQ-related news and events for 15 years. Several years ago, he decided he would only report on alleged hate crimes if at least one of three criteria were met: There had been an arrest, there was conclusive video evidence, or there were uninvolved eye-witness accounts. The recent assault of a gay man in Salt Lake City, which was captured on film, fits the bill. Jussie Smollett's alleged assault-with no eye-witnesses, arrests, or video evidence-did not, but because Smollett is famous and the national media was already reporting the story, Jervis made an exception to his own rule. Still, not all his readers-whom, he says, are "overwhelmingly older gay men"-were buying it.

"I didn't want to weigh in on if it was real or not, but from the comments and the emails I received, a lot of my readers were immediately skeptical," Jervis told me in a phone interview. And while plenty of the comments on his posts about Smollett are sympathetic-gay men of a certain age tend to have experiences with hate-quite a few commenters anonymously expressed their doubts. "As a Chicagoan-this is odd," one comment reads. "Certainly, weirder things have happened, but this in downtown Chicago? Color me a Suspicious Susie-but hope Jussie is okay no matter what went down."

The saga began three weeks ago, after Smollett reported to Chicago police that he was beaten and doused with bleach by two masked men shouting racist and homophobic epithets. Smollett was treated in the hospital, and early the next morning, TMZ broke the story, reporting that the attack occurred at around 2 in the morning on a sub-freezing night on the actor's way home from getting a late-night sandwich at Subway. TMZ, on a tip from an unnamed source apparently close to the actor, claimed that the two perpetrators shouted, "This is MAGA country," and tied a noose around Smollett's neck. In a photo posted to the website, there's a laceration on Smollett's cheek, rope burn on his neck, and his face looks puffy and swollen.

The outcry was immediate. Nearly every national publication in America picked up the story and there was a massive outpouring of support for Smollett from fellow Empire stars and celebrities as well as gay rights groups, activists, and politicians. Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, and a bevy of Democratic presidential hopefuls weighed in with their horror and support. Even Trump condemned the attack-and, for once, he didn't immediately shift the attention to himself.

Of course, not everyone jumped to Smollett's defense. While on the left, the response was largely to take Smollett's claims at face value, plenty of right wing commentators and critics expressed doubt from the very beginning. And of course they did: Smollett blamed Trump voters. They had clear motivation to question the narrative he put forth: His story made Trump supporters look not just racist, but violent (which, indeed, some Trump supporters are). These conservative doubters are now gloating.

At the same time, those on the left who had misgivings mostly kept quiet. It's a lot more socially acceptable to express your support of the victim of an alleged hate crime than it is to question whether it happened. Doubting the apparent victim of a hate crime was just too toxic a position to take.

Privately, though, people expressed skepticism, especially as strange details emerged. According to news reports and police statements, Smollett initially didn't want to report the attack but he still left the noose around his neck until the officers arrived to take his statement 40 minutes after his manager called the police, because, Smollett said, he wanted to preserve the evidence. But if he didn't want to report the assault, why in the world would he keep that rope around his neck? It just didn't make sense.

The same day that the news broke, I started having off-the-record conversations with people-most of whom were some form of queer, none of whom were remotely close to being fans of Donald Trump-about why this story seemed so fishy. It was just too perfect, like a soap opera's version of a hate crime. A famous person was randomly targeted in the middle of a freezing cold night by two racists with a noose screaming, "This is MAGA country" in Chicago? Chicago has certainly had more than its share of racism both today and throughout American history-Martin Luther King, Jr. once referred to it as the most segregated city in America-but Hillary Clinton won Chicago in 2016 by nearly 84 percent. Obama won it by even more. While there are undoubtedly both racists and Trump supporters in Chicago, "MAGA country" it's not.

The details kept getting stranger. There was a complete lack of video evidence even though nearly every street in Chicago has some sort of surveillance camera. And the story kept changing: First I read that Smollett broke a rib, then I read that he didn't. First the Chicago police said that Smollett hadn't mentioned anything about "MAGA country"; then, when they interviewed him a second time, they said that he did. Were the attackers wearing MAGA hats, as MSNBC first claimed, or were they wearing black ski masks, as was later reported? A neighbor reported seeing "rednecks" loitering outside Smollett's apartment building that no one else seemed to notice. A security guard reported that Smollett walked past him with a rope around his neck and didn't say anything at all. None of it made sense, and my bullshit meter was wildly pinging.

I even wrote something about it on the day the first story broke. This was soon after Covington had faded from the news, and in light of everything the media got wrong in the initial coverage of that story, it seemed wise to wait until the investigation had proceeded before extrapolating something larger from this alleged attack. I didn't say that I didn't believe Smollett, but I did say we should withhold judgment until more information came forth. This post ultimately wasn't published after my editor expressed some hesitation. While I did not agree with this decision, he was right: At that moment, anyone on the left who offered less than full support of Jussie Smollett was going to be attacked. And maybe that's not such a bad thing. Certainly, I'd prefer to live in a world where the default position is to believe victims than to just assume that they are lying. Of course, we don't have to choose one or the other. Some victims are genuine, some are not, and the only way to determine what's real and what's fake is to actually investigate.

Unfortunately, hate crime hoaxes in the LGBTQ community are hardly new. In the early years of Joe Jervis's blog, he dutifully reported on alleged anti-gay hate crimes when they occurred. And then, after a number of them-for instance, the case of a Tennessee couple that burned down their own house and claimed they were targeted for being lesbians-ended up being either untrue or wildly exaggerated, he decided not to report on allegations unless they were backed up by evidence.

Jervis had good reason for caution: Violence, like many social phenomena, can be contagious. This is true of suicide and mass shootings, which have been shown to spike after high-profile incidents. The more the media publicizes hate crimes, the more likely they may be to happen. And this includes hate crime hoaxes as well.

"Some messed up people see the attention others get from being the victim of a hate crime and they want some of that for themselves," Jervis told me. "It's a way of helping their hurt."

Of course, the repercussions of falsely reporting a hate crime are enormous, and not just for the perpetrator, who can be (and, in Smollett's case, may very well be) charged with false reporting. Hate crime hoaxes have the same effect as actual hate crimes: They create panic and terror. Often, as in Smollett's case, it's the perpetrator's own community that suffers. Queer black people in Chicago were led to believe that there are racist white men roaming the streets with nooses and bleach looking for victims, and, as multiple think pieces argued in the days after the attack, if Jussie Smollett isn't safe, who is?

If Smollett did make this story up, his lie will be used to dismiss the actual victims of hate crimes going forth.
According to the FBI, reports of hate crimes increased 17 percent between 2016 and 2017. It's important to note that there were 1,000 more law enforcement agencies reporting hate crimes in 2017 than there were in 2016, as Robby Soave pointed out in Reason, and that likely accounts for some of the rise. But as we saw in the deadly shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh, hate crimes do happen in the US. Just Monday, Maajid Nawaz, a writer and former Islamic extremist who now works as a counter-extremism expert, was reportedly attacked in London by someone who allegedly called him a "fucking Paki." (There were, according to Nawaz, multiple witnesses as well as CCTV footage of the attack.) These reports should be taken seriously. But hoaxes make all claims of hate claims less likely to be believed. We're seeing this in real time: The reported on two alleged hate crimes in Portland on Monday and most of the comments on the post reference hoaxes or Jussie Smollett. (In one case, the police say the alleged victim was "intoxicated and appeared to have fallen," but a GoFundMe reportedly set up for the alleged victim has, as of this writing, raised almost $10,000.)

At this point, it looks as though Smollett paid two Nigerian American friends to help him stage the attack. (While I'm all about diversity in casting, in this case, it seems like the director would have been wise to cast villians who were a little more white). If this ends up being what happened, Smollett has given a tragic gift to the conservative right and the Trump administration. He tearfully claimed on Good Morning America that if his attackers had been black, Mexican, or Muslim-and if he weren't an outspoken Trump critic-everyone would have believed him, no doubt. When Trump screams "fake news," this is the kind of thing he is talking about, and while most national and Chicago reporters did a very good job of simply reporting the facts as they changed, the vast majority of hot takes and opinion pieces-which are not the same as reporting-were squarely on Smollett's side. When Chicago reporters covering the story did cast doubt on Smollett's story, some were accused of spreading misinformation or of being homophobic and racist themselves. Trump and his cronies at Fox News will use this event as further evidence that the mainstream media is irreparably biased, and plenty of people will believe them.

The penalties for filing a false police report vary by jurisdiction and can include both fines and time in prison. As of this week, Jussie Smollett's lawyers were still claiming he's the victim, but as more details emerge, it seems less and less likely to be true. There could be, however, one small silver lining to this whole sorry tale, and that's this: Jussie Smollett wasn't actually attacked and beaten by noose-wielding bigots in Chicago. No matter his reasons or the consequences of this charade, if an assault didn't occur, that's something Americans across the political spectrum should be glad about.

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Jussie Smollett and the No Good, Very Bad Tale

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The news that Empire star Jussie Smollett may have orchestrated his own hate crime certainly came as a shock to much of America. Joe Jervis, however, wasn't exactly surprised. Jervis, creator of the news blog Joe.My.God, has been covering LGBTQ-related news and events for 15 years.

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The hashtag #FreeJussie got thousands of tweets for the past few weeks. Twitter is very useful tool for to share this topic because it attracts a larger audience. It is becoming like a news outlet where people can share trending topics and post thoughts and opinion on the story. Public figures receive a lot of support from hashtags. It increases relevance to, not only the case/story but the subject themselves like Jussie. Hashtags are effective in which it allows everybody to be aware of the news.

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This is a live video provided by NBC News which features Chicago police briefing the case of Jussie Smollett. This is a useful communication channel because there are audience who are curious enough to watch the whole story unveil. More so, it gives the audience an opportunity to put on their thinking-hats and try to analyze the case themselves. For instance, they can point out some reports that may not make sense. However the live video may be too long for some viewers.

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Watch Live: Chicago Police Briefing On Jussie Smollett Arrest | NBC News

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The Shade Room is a popular network known for sharing celebrity news and entertainment. It shares an update on the case on their Facebook page along with the link to their website article. Jussie has evidence to prove the Chicago police wrong. After an alleged report came about that he paid two men to attack him, he proves his innocence by showing a pay check that has been written six days before the attack.  Because of the fact that Facebook is a well-known social media platform, it's accessible and viewer-friendly. Anyone can share it to spread the news.

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Jussie has evidence to support his claim that the #Chicago Police Superintendent got it all wrong. Documents and texts obtained by @tmz_tv show that the $3,500 check in question was written to Abel...

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BallerAlert, another popular celebrity/entertainment network, shares the released mugshot on their instagram. An image release grabs the public's  attention, causing a public shock which allows the story to stay relevant. Instagram is a great social platform to share images and allowing people to share their opinions. The hashtag #jussiesmollett was trending on many entertainment/news account. Images can be easily shared by other people, which means your story will be seen be a larger audience. You could even link the image back to an article you want your target audience to read.

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5,649 Likes, 1,225 Comments - Baller Alert (@balleralert) on Instagram: "#JussieSmollett's Mugshot Released"

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DJ WOLF from iHeart Radio weighs in on the Jussie Smollett case. This 16 min podcast features him ranting about the situation. He talks about how his public stunt was a betrayal upon the black and LGBTQ+ community. He mentions the excuses Jussie made in response to his alleged stunt. Jussie claims it was for the purpose of the show's (Empire) storyline. DJ Wolf says due to that fact, Jussie sabotaged his own career and shouldn't have involved the law if that was the case. DJ Wolf is well-known, sharing his opinion can attract more audience into the topic.

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jussie smollett excuse for his actions? unbelievable!

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Listen to the DJWOLF LIVE Episode - Jussie Smollett excuse for his actions? Unbelievable! on iHeartRadio | iHeartRadio

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Stream the DJWOLF LIVE episode, Jussie Smollett excuse for his actions? Unbelievable!, free & on demand on iHeartRadio.

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This is an image I found on Google. It is a picture of the letter Jussie claimed to receive a week before the attack. It was published by a blog website called Blue Lives Matter. On the "visit" button, it links to the article provided which talks about the letter for evidence. The article also weighs in on the controversy, whether or not Jussie's hate crime is fake. Readers who are socially aware would already know what this article is about just by looking at the name. Blue Lives Matter, a social group that advocates for police, became its own platform once Black Lives Matter advocated against police brutality. It is deemed as a racist and ignorant group because it's known to deny that racism exists among the police, reason why black people are most likely to be victims of police brutality. So it's not surprising that the article would try to insinuate that Jussie's hate crime is fake.

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A public relations site that features news and opinions, Out, released an update on the topic. Two Nigerian brothers by the names of Ola and Abel, were allegedly involved in the so-claimed hate crime attack. The blog explains the whole story to ensure that the reader understands it in full. Further in the article, it mentions the allegation of whether or not Jussie paid the brothers to fake the attack. In the end, it includes FBI statistics that shows numbers of hate crime within 2016 and 2017. Statistics are crucial in a story because allows the reader to the subject much more deeply.

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Ola and Abel Osundairo, the two brothers allegedly involved in an attack against actor Jussie Smollett were seen leaving a grand jury room to talk to prosecutors on Tuesday, CBS News Chicago reports.

It was also reported that the two men were recorded in a car from a ride-sharing app, presumably on their way to the scene of the incident. The Osundairos seemed nervous during the car ride, sources told CBS.

Last month, Smollett reported to police that he was attacked in the early morning hours of January 29, when two men approached him and attacked him on the street in Chicago near his home telling yelling "This is MAGA country."

Smollett said the men also slipped a rope around his neck and poured a chemical substance onto him while calling him racial and homophobic slurs, which prompted a hate crime investigation by local law enforcement. Chicago police took two men into custody on Wednesday but they were released Friday evening. Since the brothers went into police custody, more information has come out alluding to Smollett potentially orchestrating his own attack. CNN reported on Saturday that at least one of the brothers reportedly worked on Empire as an extra, and are now fully cooperating with law enforcement.

The brothers' attorney, Gloria Schmidt, says they have provided evidence to Chicago PD to corroborate that Smollett was involved in purchasing the rope, according to CBS. New details published Saturday by CBS say the men were paid $3,500 by Smollett to stage the attack, which they had rehearsed days prior. After the attack, the brothers fled for Nigeria and returned days later. They say Smollett was supposed to pay them an additional $500 upon their return, CBS reports.

A spokesperson for the department told CBS after the bothers were released that the detectives on the case "have additional investigative work to complete." The Advocate reports that Smollett has retained two criminal defense attorneys to represent him in light of allegations that the attack may have been coordinated. According to a spokesperson for Smollett, one of the brothers was Smollett's personal trainer, and therefore, "it is impossible to believe that this person could have played a role in the crime against Jussie or would falsely claim Jussie's complicity."

The story of the attack also brought on doubt from others. Earlier this week, Smollett responded through a spokesperson to rumors that he may have been lying about the attack in a statement saying that he "is the victim here, which has been stated by the Superintendent of Police."

Though Smollett's case has been met by skepticism by some, hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people are generally on the rise and have become more severe. Shortly after news of the attack broke in late January, the New York City Anti-Violence Project released a statement emphasizing that "Jussie is not alone" in his experience. Gay Black men are among "some of the most vulnerable to violence in the LGBTQ community."

According to the latest numbers from the FBI, previously reported by Out, the number of hate crimes reported nationwide rose from 6,121 in 2016 to 7,175 in 2017. The most common types of hate crime incidents were based on the victim's race (59.6%), religion (20.6%), and sexual orientation (15.8%). Of the 7,175 hate crimes reported, 7,106 were single-bias incidents while 69 were based on more than one bias.
RELATED | Op-ed: The Vast Majority of Hate Crime Victims are Telling the Truth Correction: This story has been updated to clarify that Ola and Abel Osundairo met with prosecutors on Tuesday, and did not, in fact, go before a grand jury as CBS's Charlie Del Mar initially reported.

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The Brothers Involved in Jussie Smollett Case Met With Prosecutors

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Ola and Abel Osundairo, the two brothers allegedly involved in an attack against actor Jussie Smollett were seen leaving a grand jury room to talk to prosecutors on Tuesday, CBS News Chicago reports. It was also reported that the two men were recorded in a car from a ride-sharing app, presumably on their way to the scene of the incident.

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Links are embedded in each individual post