Empire actor Jussie Smollett is now suspected of "filing a false police report" and detectives are presenting the case against him to a grand jury, Chicago Police say.
Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi tweeted the news on Thursday morning after Smollett's attorneys met with prosecutors and detectives.
Smollett had told police he was attacked by two masked men while walking home from a Subway sandwich shop at about 2am on January 29.
He said they beat him, hurled racist and homophobic insults at him and looped a rope around his neck before fleeing.
Police couldn't find surveillance video of the attack but questioned two men who were initially deemed as suspects but who were released on Friday.
On Saturday, Mr Guglielmi said information from the men had "shifted" the investigation and that police wanted to speak to Smollett again.
Shortly before Chicago Police announced Smollett was now a suspect, Fox Television said the actor "continued to be a consummate professional on set" and reiterated that, counter to media reports, he was not being written out of the show.
Doubts began to appear about Smollett's story
The Chicago Police Department initially said they were investigating a "possible hate crime", following Smollett's report last month.
But numerous local media outlets began reporting that investigators had doubts about the actor's claims, particularly after the two men — brothers who were known to Smollett — were released without charge.
Smollett vigorously denied the accusation he was faking, including during a high-profile US TV interview, saying he was "pissed" that people would doubt his version of events.
Many high-profile celebrities and politicians, including US Democratic presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Cory Booker, walked back their support for the actor this week after initially labelling the crime "a modern-day lynching".
AP
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Empire actor Jussie Smollett suspected of 'false report' amid growing doubt over hate crime claims - ABC News"
Post a Comment