The two men that were arrested in connection to Jussie Smollett’s racist, homophobic attack have been released.
“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,” said Chicago Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi in a statement via Twitter on Friday.
According to CPD, the Nigerian brothers were at the time “persons of interest” and were brought in because of “probable cause that they may have committed a crime.” The men were arrested on Wednesday at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. On Jan. 29, Smollett was attacked by two people who yelled “racial and homophobic slurs toward him.” The Chicago Police Department said that though there is no evidence of that, Smollett is still being treated as a victim.
“The offenders began to batter the victim with their hands about the face and poured an unknown chemical substance on the victim. At some point during the incident, one of the offenders wrapped a rope around the victim’s neck.”
On Thursday, Fox issued a statement in support of the Empire actor, denying rumors that Smollett staged the attack because he was allegedly being written off the show. More details to come.
