Source: Kevin Mazur / Getty
Witnesses Corroborate Jussie Smollett’s Characterization Of Persons Of Interest In Alleged Race Hate Incident
The recent release of several hundred pages of internal documents related to the alleged racist attack against actor Jussie Smollett’s has raised questions about law enforcement’s narrative of the case after some witness statements appear to match the “Empire” actor’s story.
Chicago Police released more than 400 pages of documents earlier this week that detail it’s handling of Smollett’s case, and at least two eyewitnesses told police that they saw men who fit Smollett’s descriptions of the suspects loitering near the scene around the time of the alleged incident, according to the documents, which were obtained by BOSSIP.
A hotel security guard told police that he saw three men in dark clothing – and one of the men was white and wearing a facemask – near the scene around the time of the incident, the case’s papers state. And another resident who was walking a dog told police that she saw a white man smoking a cigarette with a rope poking out from underneath his coat. The witness said the man appeared to be waiting for something, and his clothes appeared wet.
Source: Brandon Caldwell / Radio One Houston
Cops accused Smollett of staging the alleged attack to help advance his career and later charged Smollett with making a false police report. The District Attorney’s Office eventually dropped the charges.
Smollett and his legal team weren’t aware of the details in the documents because the District Attorney’s Office and his lawyers did not exchange evidence before Smollett’s charges were ultimately dropped, a source with direct knowledge of the situation told BOSSIP.
Nevertheless, our source said Smollett’s story hasn’t wavered, and while his camp isn’t worried about his career, there is a concern that his community and advocacy work has been overshadowed by the case.
“It got political and it got bigger than him,” the source said. “It’s the years of advocacy, the things he’s been doing for his community and people of color that goes away and it’s not fair.”