Jojo Smollett insists that his brother, Jussie, is innocent.
Jojo mentioned that the Chicago Police Department has a long history in handling cases wrongly.
JoJo Smollett says this experience has caused his brother to have night terrors and financial burdenshttps://t.co/SJeX4qmoeZ
— MadameNoire (@MadameNoire) April 21, 2019
“After several leaks from ‘unnamed’ police sources and despite a long history of wrongful accusations from the Chicago Police Department, many in the media accepted these unconfirmed reports as fact. The numerous police leaks, which prompted an internal Chicago Police investigation, convicted Jussie in the court of public opinion before he even entered a courtroom.” Jojo wrote, and continued, “On February 14, the day that the Osundario brothers were brought in for questioning as suspects, Fox News reported that the Chicago police communications director, in response to leaked sources within the department, had begun spreading the word that Jussie had supposedly staged the attack, stated that the police chief “has contacted @ABC7Chicago to state on the record that we have no evidence to support their reporting and their supposed CPD sources are uninformed and inaccurate.”
JoJo Smollett: What If Jussie Is Telling The Truth? | Style | Celebrity | BET | https://t.co/M9XKj7V3wc pic.twitter.com/oTvKtzYrAD
— Luxoney (@LuxoneyOfficial) April 21, 2019
Smollett, known for starring in “Empire,” claimed that at around 2 a.m. on Jan. 29, during a polar vortex, he was attacked by two white supporters of President Donald Trump. During his return from a Subway sandwich shop, Smollett said that the men tied a rope around his neck and poured bleach in his eyes while shouting slurs and a pro-Trump statement.
A weeklong investigation led to Chicago police detectives arresting two black brothers, one had been hired by Smollett as his trainer. After several days in custody, the brothers, Ola and Abel Osundairo, confessed to detectives that Smollett paid them $3,500 to help him fake a hate crime.
Smollett was arrested in mid-February on charges of filing a false police report.
Jojo claims at the end of his essay, “One important note, the superintendent of the Chicago Police Department announced publicly that Jussie’s motive in staging an attack was so he could make more money from ‘Empire.’ Fox immediately said that wasn’t true but the police chief never withdrew his accusation. The chief also stated as fact that Jussie had sent himself the threatening letter that arrived at the ‘Empire’ production offices weeks before the attack. The FBI then refuted this claim. Again, the chief did not correct his accusations. Letting it float for the public to either believe or not.”
Kim Foxx, the lead prosecutor in the Jussie Smollett case, now claims that the case was not solid and that public statements by officials led to her office’s unusual agreement with the actor.
Two top deputies of Cook County State Attorney @KimFoxxforSA have resigned in the wake of the #JussieSmollett #HateCrime hoax scandal.
The #Empire actor, saw all charges against him dropped by Foxx’s office in an unusual agreement. https://t.co/QeACxh3vC5
— The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) April 20, 2019
But all charges against Smollett were inexplicably dropped against the actor on March 26, a decision heavily criticized by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson, and the Illinois Prosecutors Bar Association. President Donald Trump said the FBI and Department of Justice will review the unusual agreement, which didn’t include Smollett admitting to any wrongdoing.
JoJo Smollett pens essay defending brother @JussieSmollett, attacking “ludicrous” claims of publicity/money motive w/details of his booming biz ventures. “He wouldn’t need to roll around on the icy ground of a Chicago street, staging an attack on himself to make this happen.” https://t.co/CG6CoafecM
— ???????????????????????????????????? ???????????????? (@WashNews) April 20, 2019
Foxx initially said she’d recused herself from the case but later said she had merely “separated” from it, and an assistant district attorney in her office was put forward as the man who made the decision to drop the charges. That prosecutor, Joe Magats, said that the case against Smollett was solid, noting, “We didn’t exonerate him.”
Magats was asked by a CBS reporter if he believed that Smollett was guilty, replied, “Yes.”
BREAKING: New text messages show that Cook County District Attorney Kim Foxx intervened in the case against Empire actor Jussie Smollett, weeks after she claimed that she recused herself. https://t.co/iPRpwtaudA
— Harry Cherry (@TheHarryCherry) April 17, 2019
Kim Foxx’s Top Deputies Start Quitting Amid Jussie Smollett Fallout
Follow @bluelivesmtr#BlueLivesMatter #BackTheBlue
Full Story https://t.co/1gnvLZcd91 pic.twitter.com/pyWp5BJqfo
— Blue Lives Matter (@bluelivesmtr) April 20, 2019
Epoch Times reporter Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
