Police release documents in Jussie Smollett alleged hate crime hoax

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

Chicago police have released documents related to an alleged hate crime hoax by former "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett, according to news reports.

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The hundreds of pages of documents include arrest files, case reports and supplementary files, according to WLS-TV.

Police also have almost 70 hours of video and could release the videos next week.

A Cook County judge last week ordered the documents in the case unsealed.

A grand jury returned 16 felony counts against Smollett in March for falsely reporting a hate crime against himself in January, but the charges were abruptly dropped.

The actor told police he was attacked in downtown Chicago by two men who hurled racist and anti-gay slurs and looped a rope around his neck.

By February, investigators alleged Smollett had recruited the two men to stage the attack because he was upset with his pay on the Fox show. Smollett has denied playing a role in the attack.

According to the documents released Thursday, police had  located and interviewed the Osundairo brothers, who they said confessed. Authorities also said Smollett planned and staged the attack, according to WBBM-TV.

The documents revealed that the Osundairo brothers were a drug connection for Smollett.

They also showed that a month before the case against Smollett was dropped, Chicago police investigators were told the charges would be resolved by the actor forfeiting to the city a $10,000 bond and agreeing to community service, which is what happened.

Smollett also refused to a look at a photo lineup of possible attackers, which included the Osundairo brothers, on the advice of his attorney, the documents showed.

Smollett has denied fabricating the attack and, in late February, all the charges were dropped in a deal with prosecutors in exchange for community service and the $10,000 bond forfeiture.

The City of Chicago then filed a lawsuit against Smollett to try and recover the costs of the investigation and redeem their reputation in the case.

Actor Jussie Smollett after his court appearance at Leighton Courthouse on March 26, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois,  when all the charges in the case were dropped.

Credit: Nuccio DiNuzzo

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Credit: Nuccio DiNuzzo

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