Jussie Smollett Attack: Police Raid Home of Two Persons of Interest (Report)
There are new developments in the Jussie Smollett case.
ET has learned that the Chicago Police Department questioned Smollett on Thursday, and the actor is cooperating with authorities. CBS News' Chicago affiliates also reports that police raided the homes of two persons of interest. They allegedly had connections to the Empire production.
According to reporter Charlie De Mar, who took to Twitter to share the report, "Police raided the home of two persons of interest in Jussie Smollett case last night. Both men are of Nigerian decent [sic] and have appeared as extras on the show. Police took bleach, shoes electronics and more. Officers asked family if they knew Jussie Smollett."
"This information is according to family who says home was ransacked. I asked family why they think police picked the two brothers up for questioning and they replied by saying the men left for Nigeria the day of the attack," the second tweet read.
On Thursday morning, Chicago PD identified persons of interest who were in the area of Smollett's attack.
Late last month, police shared that detectives had located a surveillance camera which captured images of the persons of interest -- they soon released the photos to the public. On Thursday, Chicago Police Department spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said they have identified the two people in question.
On Friday, a spokesperson for Chicago Police confirmed to ET that the two individuals that were captured on surveillance video around the same time as the alleged attack on Smollett are in fact the two men that police are classifying as potential suspects. The two men and their attorney met with detectives on Thursday and will meet with them again on Friday.
Smollett made his first television appearance since the attack on Good Morning America on Thursday, where he emotionally detailed his experience, and the moment he realized there was a rope around his neck.
"I heard as I was crossing the intersection, I heard, ‘Empire!’ I don’t answer to Empire,” he said. "My name ain’t Empire. And I didn’t answer. I kept walking and then I heard ‘f****t Empire n****r’ so I turned around and said, ‘The f**k did you just say to me?’”
“It was so fast,” Smollett said of the attack. “It felt like minutes, but it probably was like 30 seconds, honestly. I can’t tell you, honestly. I noticed the rope and I started screaming. I said, ‘There’s a f**king rope around my neck.’"
See more of his interview in the video below.
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