Chicago police believe Jussie Smollett PAID two Nigerian brothers $3,500 to ATTACK him on the street and they bought the rope found around the Empire star's neck from a local hardware store

By Ariel Zilber and Keith Griffith For Dailymail.com

Published: 19:01 EST, 16 February 2019 | Updated: 21:32 EST, 16 February 2019

Empire star Jussie Smollett (above) has hired Michael Cohen's high-powered criminal defense attorney, as the police investigation into the attack he reported last month took a sudden shift

Actor Jussie Smollett orchestrated an assault against him, Chicago police say
Empire star hired two Nigerian brothers to beat him, investigators believe
Both men, Nigerian brothers, are friends of Smollett and said to be anti-Trump
The brothers were reportedly paid $3,500 and were promised additional $500
Smollett has hired high-powered defense lawyer Michael Monico
Smollett said last month that he was the victim of a racist, homophobic attack
Said he fought off two noose-wielding white men yelling 'this is MAGA country'
Police say new evidence emerged in interrogations that requires investigation

Empire star Jussie Smollett paid two men $3,500 to stage an assault against him which he later claimed was an attack motivated by racism and homophobia, investigators in Chicago now believe.

The stunning turn of events has rapidly transformed the beloved actor who was once thought to be the victim of a heinous hate crime into a suspect in a criminal investigation.

The two men involved in the alleged hoax are now fully cooperating with law enforcement, CNN is reporting on Saturday.

On January 29, two men 'yelled out racial and homophobic slurs' while attacking Smollett, the actor told police.

One of the assailants tied a rope around his neck and poured an unknown chemical substance on him, Smollett claimed at the time.

Abimbola 'Abel' (left) and Olabinjo 'Ola' Osundairo (right) were arrested on Wednesday night at Chicago O'Hare airport, as they returned from a trip to visit family in Nigeria

During the attack, the assailants yelled 'Empire f****t' and 'Empire n*****,' the actor has long maintained.

That narrative, however, is now under serious scrutiny by investigators, who reportedly have evidence that Smollett directed his 'attackers' to buy the rope used in the 'assault' at a local hardware store.

Documents prove two Nigerian brothers who work as extras on the highly rated Fox drama bought the rope which was found around Smollett’s neck at Crafty Beaver Hardware Store in Chicago.

The brothers made the purchase on the weekend of January 25.

They also bought two red plain hats that they wore during the alleged attack, according to sources close to the investigation.

Police believe that the red hats were purchased at a local beauty supply store in the Uptown section of Chicago.

'We can confirm that the information received from the individuals questioned by police earlier in the Empire case has in fact shifted the trajectory of the investigation,' Chicago Police spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said.

'We’ve reached out to the Empire cast member’s attorney to request a follow-up interview.'

Chicago police are now ‘eager to speak to Jussie Smollett’ in light of the new information that was uncovered, according to ABC News.

‘We have been in touch with Smollett's attorneys,’ a Chicago Police Department spokesperson said.

Scene: 'I was bruised but my ribs were not cracked, they were not broken. I went to the doctor immediately ... but I was not hospitalized,' said Smollett (map with inset of the scene where the attack occurred just outside Smollett's apartment)

‘We made our intentions clear,’ he said.

Brothers Olabinjo 'Ola' Osundairo, 27, and Abimbola 'Abel' Osundairo, 25, were cut loose from police custody late on Friday. They had been held since Wednesday, after being picked up at O'Hare Airport while disembarking a flight from Nigeria.

The brothers were paid $3,500 before leaving for Nigeria and were promised another $500 upon returning, according to WBBM-TV.

Earlier on Saturday, Smollett hired Michael Cohen's high-powered criminal defense attorney, as the police investigation into the attack he reported last month took a sudden shift amid allegations of a hoax.

Attorney Michael Monico, a former federal prosecutor in the Northern District of Illinois, revealed in a radio interview on Thursday in Chicago that he is representing Smollett.

Monico, speaking on WGN's The Roe Conn Show, did not reveal how long he has been representing Smollet or in what capacity. Monico last month took over as co-counsel for Cohen, President Donald Trump's former lawyer.

It came as police in Chicago suddenly released the two Nigerian extras on Smollett's show, who had previously been described as suspects in the attack, saying that 'new evidence' had emerged in their interrogations that requires further detective work.

JUSSIE SMOLLETT COULD GET 3 YEARS IN PRISON FOR FILING A FALSE REPORT TO POLICE

Filing a false report to police in the State of Illinois is considered an act of disorderly conduct, which is a Class 4 felony.

That means that anyone found guilty could face between one and three years in prison.

By law, the crime of disorderly conduct is committed in Illinois by anyone who 'transmits or causes to be transmitted in any manner to any peace officer, public officer or public employee a report to the effect that an offense will be committed, is being committed, or has been committed, knowing at the time of the transmission that there is no reasonable ground for believing that the offense will be committed, is being committed, or has been committed.'

Last week, a central Illinois man was sentenced to three years in state prison after he pleaded guilty to fabricating an Amber alert.

On December 15, Mitchell Dutz, 18, told police that three black men stole his car with a 13-month-old infant inside.

Dutz used a social media photo of a child he did not know to claim that there was a kidnapping, according to Peoria Journal Star.

But police rescinded the Amber alert after it became clear that it was a hoax.

Dutz pleaded guilty to motor-vehicle burglary and disorderly conduct.

Last month, a Chicago woman was charged with a felony after she allegedly made a 911 call that turned out to be a 'swatting' incident.

Keesha S. Ingram, 41, allegedly called police before dawn on December 11 to report that a man was threatening to shoot his wife in their home in Warren Township.

Sheriff's deputies responded to the call. They arrived at the scene and set up a perimeter around the house.

After making contact with the residents inside, the deputies determined there was no incident to warrant an arrest, according to the Daily Herald.

Authorities then determined that they were dealing with a 'swatting' incident whereby a person falsely reports an ongoing crime at a particular address in order to harass the individual who lives there.

An investigation led back to Ingram, who is alleged to have known one of the people who lived in the Warren Township home.

Investigators believe Ingram made the swatting call out of revenge against the victim, whom she accused of not paying her money that was owed to her.

Ingram is still on the loose and is wanted for arrest, according to Patch.

'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 statement on Friday night.

The Osundairo brothers' attorney, Gloria Schmidt, spoke briefly to reporters after their release, hinting that Smollett's legal future could hold difficulties.

'There's so many moving parts to this that will come out in time,' Schmidt said when asked if her clients had helped Smollett stage the attack. 'I'm going to let them tell their story when the time is right.'

Smollett made international headlines after reporting the attack on January 29, in which he said two white men assaulted him at 2am on a Chicago street, shouting vile racist and homophobic slurs.

Michael Monico (above) revealed in a radio interview on Thursday that he is Smollett's lawyer

The actor said that he fought back bravely as the two men shouted 'this is MAGA country,' poured bleach on him, and looped a noose around his neck.

Smollett has vigorously denied speculation that details of the attack were fabricated or staged, speaking out in an interview that aired on Wednesday just hours before the Osundairo brothers were detained.

It is unclear at this time what the Osundairo brothers told police that would alter the course of the investigation.

'The left is mentally insane': Trump supporters say they are vindicated since 'Jussie is a liar and a fraud'

As Jussie Smollett is now suspected by authorities of fabricating claims he was beaten by homophobic and racist Trump supporters, the president’s backers said on Saturday that they are vindicated.

The president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, tweeted: ‘It appears that Jussie Smollett tried to manufacture a hate crime to make Trump supporters look bad and most of the media not only uncritically accepted his lies as facts for weeks, but attacked those who questioned the validity of his false story.’

Journalist Michael Tracey tweeted: ‘Popular culture and political media have been so relentless in their promotion of alarmist Trump-era narratives that all critical faculties go out the window when it comes to "hate" incidents that align suspiciously closely with everything pundits, celebs, etc. want to believe.’

Brian Flood tweeted: ‘CNN is all in on the Jussie Smollett news... but they keep forgetting the part where he claimed attackers were Trump supporters.’

‘There was never any real attack,’ according to Ryan Fournier.

Donald Trump Jr tweeted: ‘It appears that Jussie Smollett tried to manufacture a hate crime to make Trump supporters look bad and most of the media not only uncritically accepted his lies as facts for weeks, but attacked those who questioned the validity of his false story’

Journalist Michael Tracey blamed 'alarmist Trump-era narratives' created by 'popular culture and political media' which has led to 'all critical faculties go[ing] out the window'

Brian Flood tweeted: ‘CNN is all in on the Jussie Smollett news... but they keep forgetting the part where he claimed attackers were Trump supporters'

Ryan Fournier tweeted: 'Jussie Smollett is a liar and a fraud'

‘There was never any real attack,’ according to Ryan Fournier. ‘Jussie paid to be attacked and then made it look like Trump supporters did it'

Andrew Surabian tweeted: ‘And just like with Covington, the media was all too willing to help Jussie Smollett pull off his hoax and in the process frame Trump supporters in the court of public opinion before any actual facts came out’

‘Jussie paid to be attacked and then made it look like Trump supporters did it.

‘This is how mentally insane the left has become. They will do anything to bring us down.

‘Well it’s not happening because Jussie is going to jail.’

Fournier also tweeted: ‘Jussie Smollett is a liar and a fraud.

‘He needs to be punished for faking an assault and framing Trump supporters.’

Others compared the Smollett case to last month’s controversy surrounding the teens from Covington, Kentucky, who were filmed making faces at a Native American protester in front of the Lincoln Memorial.

A number of teens from a Catholic high school wore red ‘Make America Great Again’ hats.

Late on Friday, police sources said that cops had seized a bottle of bleach from Smollett's apartment, according to Fox News correspondent Matt Finn.

Meanwhile, new information surfaced about the Osundairo brothers, who in the course of 48 hours went from 'potential persons of interest' to 'potential suspects' to being under arrest because investigators had 'probable cause that they were involved in a crime' to being set free.

Since their release on Friday night, they have been staying at an undisclosed location.

Police said that the brothers were the two men who were seen on a surveillance image released to the public, and Smollett positively identified the two men in the image as his attackers in a televised interview.

The two brothers are both strongly opposed to President Donald Trump and fervently pro-LGBT, fellow Empire cast and crew members tell TMZ. Both men are said to be loyal fans of former President Barack Obama.

Smollett is said to be close with the brothers and would frequently approach them on set to discuss health and fitness.

Colleagues on the tight-knit Empire set said they had a hard time imagining that the Osundairo brothers could have been involved in the kind of homophobic and bigoted attack that Smollett described.

Abimbola, pictured, was booked on DUI and speeding charges in July 2015 according to Chicago arrest records. The brothers were picked up at Chicago O'Hare Airport on Wednesday

Police initially said that they tied the brothers to the reported attack using meticulous investigative efforts, including surveillance videos and information from ride-sharing companies.

Although Smollett said he did not know who attacked him, both brothers are known to the actor and he follows them on social media.

Their shared Instagram account also features a video of them working out at the private gym in Smollett's luxury apartment block.

The brothers left Chicago for Nigeria hours after the attack.

Celebrities rally behind Empire's Jussie Smollett after he is 'brutally attacked' in Chicago

Celebrities and fans alike rallied to lend their support to Jussie Smollett after the 35-year-old actor claimed he was attacked last month.

Janet Jackson took to her Twitter to share a special message for the actor, along with a photo of the two of them together.

'Sending so much luv and healing energy your way @jussiesmollett. we know that you’ll continue to change the world,' added Fergie.

The sentiment was shared by Shonda Rhimes, who said: 'Sending love, healing, and support to @jussiesmollett. We ALL have a responsibility to rise up against the ignorance and hate out there. If you know who did this, REPORT THEM TO THE POLICE.'

Naomi Campbell posted a impassioned plea to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to find the people responsible for the attack.

Sending love to Jussie and the Smollett family after this horrific attack. We support you and pray that you find peace and justice,' said John Legend.

'This is heartbreaking and terrifying...please pay attention to what's happening here,' said Zendaya. 'Sending all my love to @JussieSmollett.'

'No words. Love to you @JussieSmollett,' added Margaret Cho.

'This is horrifying,' said Jamilah Lemieux. 'We love you @JussieSmollett. May justice be swift and unflinching.'

'@JussieSmollett I love you,' said Tika Sumpter

'@JussieSmollett praying you have a full and speedy recovery. So sorry this happened to you, added Raegan Gomez.

Many condemned the racist and homophobic behavior and demanded justice.

Ana Navarro said: 'I saw Jussie Smollett in Miami last week. I can't believe this happened. It is sad and disgusting and and deplorable.'

The sentiment was shared by Reverend Al Sharpton, who added: 'The reported hate attack on my friend and brother, actor Jussie Smollett is despicable and outrageous. The guilty must face the maximum.'

'Sending so much love and prayers to you, @jussiesmollett. I’m in disbelief of what happened to you,' added Eva Longoria. 'It’s a senseless act that shall be met with justice! I can’t believe this is happening in 2019. This world has no room for hate. #AwaitingJustice'

Others took the moment to throw criticism at 'gay jokes' and Kevin Hart's recent appearance on Ellen where he addressed the controversy surrounding his hosting the Oscars.

Actor Ryan Jamaal Swain stated: 'This is why holding "a little homophobic joke'"accountable is taken so FREAKING SERIOUSLY. To quote @amandaseales, you have to be overly confident...black gay men have to deal w/ not only racism but homophobia.' It is always abt duality and a form of respect. @JussieSmollett

'Given what we’ve seen so far, I fully expect the men who attacked Jussie Smollett to score a sit-down interview with Ellen at some point in the next few weeks,' said Saeed Jones. 'Maybe it will be a roundtable discussion with Kevin Hart.'

Their shared apartment was also raided by police, who took away bottles of bleach, electronics, a red hat and a pair of Nike shoes.

The FBI is also involved in the investigation after Smollett reported receiving hate mail.

Federal investigators have taken the lead on the mail case, and are supporting Chicago police in the investigation into Smollett's report of an assault.

Police have been cautious in their official public statements about the case. At last report, investigators still officially considered Smollett a victim in the case.

Smollett has continued to angrily denounce any speculation that the attack did not occur as he described, ascribing racist motives to skeptics and saying that no one would doubt him if he had reported being attacked by non-white assailants.

'I will never be the man that this did not happen to,' he told ABC on Wednesday. 'I am forever changed.'

Key moments in reported attack on actor Jussie Smollett

January 29, 2019

Smollet is seen with a cut cheek on Jan. 29

Jussie Smollett tells Chicago police he was physically attacked by two white men in downtown Chicago while out getting food from a Subway restaurant at 2am.

The black and openly gay actor tells authorities the men used racial and homophobic slurs, wrapped a rope around his neck and poured an 'unknown substance' on him.

Smollett told detectives that the attackers yelled he was in 'MAGA country,' an apparent reference to President Donald Trump's 'Make America Great Again' campaign slogan, which some critics of Trump have claimed is a racist dog whistle.

January 30

Chicago police say they've reviewed hundreds of hours of surveillance camera footage, including of Smollett walking downtown, but none of the videos show the attack.

Police obtain and release images of two people they would like to question.

Police released this image of 'persons of interest' taken near the reported attack

Reports of Smollett's attack draw outrage and support on social media, including from U.S. Senators Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, and Elizabeth Warren.

Both Booker and Harris called the incident a 'modern day lynching'.

Joe Biden said: 'We must stand up and demand that we no longer give this hate safe harbor; that homophobia and racism have no place on our streets or in our hearts.'

January 31

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

Smollett's family issues a statement calling the attack a racial and homophobic hate crime.

Smollett's family says he 'has told the police everything' and 'his story has never changed,' disputing assertions leveled on social media that he has been less than cooperative and changed his story.

February 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.'

February 2

Smollett gives a concert in West Hollywood, California, opening with an emotional speech, saying he had to play the show because he couldn't let his attackers win.

At the end of the set, he announces that he fought back against his attackers, calling himself 'the gay Tupac'.

Congresswoman Maxine Waters is in attendance at the concert.

Smollet is seen performing on February 2, where he called himself 'the gay Tupac'

February 13

Good Morning America airs an emotional interview with Smollett, in which he blasts speculation that the attack was staged as itself racist and hateful.

Hours later, Chicago police pick up two Nigerian brothers at Chicago's O'Hare Airport on their return from Nigeria.

Cops identify the two men as the individuals seen in the surveillance images released from the night of January 29. They were identified using records from a ride sharing service.

Sources confirmed that the men were brothers Olabinjo 'Ola' Osundairo, 27, and Abimbola 'Abel' Osundairo, 25.

Both had worked on Empire and they were known to be close to Smollett.

Cops questioned them about the case. Police also searched the apartment where the men live.

Brothers Olabinjo 'Ola' Osundairo, 27, and Abimbola 'Abel' Osundairo, 25, were detained by police on February 13

Police logs show the items that cops seized from the Nigerian brothers' Chicago home

February 14

Two television stations in Chicago report the widespread belief among investigators that Smollett staged the attack as a hate hoax.

Chicago's police superintendent later said that he had no evidence to prove that the attack was a hoax.

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

High-powered criminal defense attorney Michael Monico reveals that he is representing Smollett.

February 15

Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielimi says the two 'persons of interest' are now considered suspects. He says the men are in custody but have not been charged with a crime.

Hours later, Chicago police release two men without charges after arresting them on suspicion of assaulting Smollett and holding them for nearly 48 hours.

A police spokesman said the two are no longer considered suspects and that investigators have 'new evidence' to consider as a result of questioning them.

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