It has been reported that the Chicago Police Department has stated that neither “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett nor his music manager are cooperating in giving up phone records of a conversation that took place on Tuesday morning during an alleged “MAGA” attack.
The Daily Caller reports:
The victim and his manager reported that they were talking on their cell phones to each other but CPD has been unable to independently verify this because they refused to turn over their cell phones,” CPD spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a Thursday statement obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation.
Smollett claimed two men beat him up, tied a noose around his neck, said racial and homophobic slurs and threw an unknown chemical substance on him Tuesday, The Associated Press reported.
Brandon Z. Moore, Smollett’s music manager, said he heard some of the attack while on the phone with Smollett, according to Variety.
Moore stated, “I heard that clearly. I heard the scuffle and I heard the racial slur.”
It was reported by TMZ on Tuesday that the alleged attackers were white males who were wearing ski masks to hide their faces. TMZ also reported that the men threw bleach at the actor, yelling “This is MAGA (Make America Great Again) country.” According to reports, the actor suffered a fractured rib from the incident as well.
Authorities have stated that Smollet didn’t mention the “MAGA country” comment at first, however in a second interview, he confirmed it.
Guglielmi also stated that Moore said during the follow-up interview that he had heard the “MAGA country” comment, ABC7 reported.
According to a police statement, the incident took place roughly around 2 a.m. this past Tuesday.
“Police were notified 40 minutes after the attack and found Smollett in his apartment with cuts and scrapes on his face and the rope around the actor’s neck, according to AP. Smollett asked police to shut down the body cameras as he explained why the rope was around his neck,” the Daily Caller reports.
The actor was treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. A report from People magazine that was released on Tuesday explains that he was in “good condition.”
On Tuesday evening, Guglielmi stated that video evidence of Smollett being attacked could not be uncovered. The Daily Caller explains that “Police expanded their search area and found ‘people of interest’ Wednesday, according to a tweet by Guglielmi.”
Photos of people of interest who were in area of the alleged assault & battery of Empire cast member. While video does not capture an encounter, detectives are taking this development seriously & wish to question individuals as more cameras are being reviewed pic.twitter.com/xJDDygtocr
— Anthony Guglielmi (@AJGuglielmi) January 31, 2019
In the picture above, two people can be seen walking down the street between 1:30 a.m. and 1:45 a.m. ABC7 reported that the picture was taken not too far from where the actor was allegedly attacked this week.
“Police confirmed Smollett walking across the street from the two people. Cops also found on another camera that looked like Smollett was ‘wearing a rope like a neck tie,’” The Daily Caller reports.
The investigation is currently ongoing.