Jussie Smollett: Case could go before grand jury - NEWS.com.au

Lawyers for Empire actor Jussie Smollett say there are no plans for him to meet with Chicago detectives for a follow-up interview about his reported assault.

Anne Kavanagh is a spokeswoman for Smollett’s lawyers.

She says in an emailed statement that his lawyers “will keep an active dialogue with Chicago police on his behalf.”

Smollett reported last month that he was physically attacked by two men who yelled homophobic and racial slurs.

He said they also yelled he was in “MAGA Country,” an apparent reference to President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan.

But on Saturday police sad that the investigation had “shifted” after detectives questioned two brothers about the attack and released them without charges.

Police say they’ve requested a follow-up interview with Smollett.

Smollett’s lawyers say the actor feels “victimised” by reports that he played a role in the assault.

MORE: TV star ‘staged’ racist attack

MORE: ‘Persons of interest’ questioned over attack

The case will go before a grand jury early next week, according to a new report.

According to TMZ, police sources said a panel will hear the case, but the outlet didn’t elaborate on who is facing charges — or what they might be.

According to the New York Post, Smollett told police he was assaulted in Chicago on January 29 by two men spewing racist and homophobic slurs at him — but his story has since come under fire as sources have alleged to news outlets that he actually paid some friends to stage the whole thing.

Police arrested brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo on Wednesday after they were captured on security footage near the scene — but they were released on Friday without charges, and police then said evidence they gave has shifted the “trajectory of the investigation.”

Police are also now investigating whether magazines with missing pages that they found when raiding the brothers’ homes are connected to a threatening letter sent to Smollett weeks before the attack with cut-out letters reading, “You will die black f–,” according to TMZ.

Smollett originally made it clear to cops that he’d sign complaints against his assailants — but once the Osundairos were arrested, he said he knew them and felt bad for them, and refused to press charges, sources tell TMZ.

Police originally found the star’s story suspect when he brought them to the scene of the incident and pointed out a camera noting the whole attack was caught on video — and were also suspicious of the claim that his assailants shouted, “This is MAGA country,” because “Not a single Trump supporter watches Empire,’” the gossip site reports.

Sources have told CBS Chicago that Smollett paid the bodybuilding brothers US$3500 (AU$4893) for the attack — with the promise of another US$500 (AU$700) to come — and even purchased the rope the duo allegedly used for the assault.

Smollett denies playing any role in the attack.

His lawyers said in a statement over the weekend that one of the brothers was his personal trainer, and the star finds it “impossible to believe that this person could have played a role in the crime against Jussie or would falsely claim Jussie’s complicity.”

Newly unearthed court documents show budding model-actors Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo both filed for bankruptcy in Illinois in September 2016 — with each declaring large students loans and very little income at the time.

Abimbola reported US$161,481 (AU$225,758) in debt, including US$85,475 (AU$119,498) in student loans, while only making US$160 (AU$224) a month — while his brother claimed he had US$72,771 (AU$101,737) in liabilities, including US$39,114 (AU$54,683) in student loans, and made just US$142 (AU$198) a month.

Both reported being part-owners of a party supply store, but said it was operating at a loss.

In a recent hypothesis reported exclusively by the Daily Mail, Smollett allegedly used Instagram to warn the brothers of his location on the night of the alleged incident.

The Daily Mail alleges that Smollett posted Instagram stories conveying that he was in a plane and stuck on the runway, which investigators believe were signals made to alert the brothers that he would be delayed.

He had also recently appeared in the play Take Me Out, about a bi-racial, gay baseball star who suffers attacks similar to the one he reported to police.

This story first appeared in the New York Post and is republished with permission.

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