Report: Chicago Police Claim Jussie Smollett Staged His Own Attack

At least they didn’t buy real MAGA hats?

In a case that’s been growing stranger and more complicated by the day, Chicago Police now believe actor Jussie Smollett orchestrated his own alleged attack.

Per a CNN report, brothers Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo were brought in on Wednesday as the lead suspects in the attack. After a round of interviewing and the threat of being charged with battery, the Osundairo brothers claimed that Smollet hired them to participate in the staged attack, paying them $4,000 for their assistance. They went on to paint a drastically differed picture of the incident, claiming to have bought the rope found on Smollett’s neck at a local hardware store and the red imitation MAGA hats at a beauty supply. They even rehearsed the attack a few days prior.

Smollett’s initial account of the attack claimed that he was accosted by two white men in ski masks and MAGA hats, yelling racial and homophobic slurs at him. In a recent statement, his lawyers maintained that the assault was real and that Smollett is “angered and devastated by recent reports that the perpetrators are individuals he is familiar with.” It goes on to reveal that one of the Osundairo brothers is a personal trainer that worked with Smollett and that “it is impossible to believe this person could have played a role in the crime against Jussie or would falsely claim Jussie’s complicity.”

Smollett has yet to directly address the new developments, but is cooperating with CPD investigators in new rounds of interviews.