CHICAGO _ In an unusual statement, Chicago police said Friday that the two brothers being questioned about a reported attack on "Empire" star Jussie Smollett are now "potential suspects," and detectives have "probable cause" that they may have committed a crime.
The statement, tweeted by police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi, did not say what charges the brothers, both in their 20s, could face. On Thursday, police were describing them only as "persons of interest" and Guglielmi emphasized then that they were not suspects.
It was not known what has changed since the brothers were taken into custody Wednesday night. Detectives had tracked them down through surveillance cameras in the Streeterville area, where Smollett says two men shouted racial and homophobic slurs at him late last month, hit him and wrapped a rope around his neck while yelling, "This is MAGA country!"
Smollett, in his first TV interview Thursday, said he believes the two people captured by those cameras are his attackers. "'Cause ... I was there," he told "Good Morning America" co-anchor Robin Roberts. "I don't have any doubt in my mind that that's them. Never did."
But police sources have said detectives are investigating the possibility that Smollett staged the incident with the help of the brothers, who according to their attorney know the actor from working on the show and have also spent time with him at a gym.
In his tweet, Guglielmi acknowledged that detectives "haven't found any video documenting the alleged attack," but added "there is also no evidence to say that this is a hoax. The alleged victim is being cooperative at this time and continues to be treated as a victim, not a suspect."
He said detectives were "working to corroborate the allegations and investigative timeline as our investigation continues."
A law enforcement source told the Tribune the two men, who are black, were brought in for questioning Wednesday night from O'Hare International Airport.
Guglielmi said the two were spotted in the area of the attack, which occurred around 2 a.m. Jan. 29 in the 300 block of East North Water Street. He released no other details, but a source familiar with the investigation said at least one of the men was traced through his use of a ride-share service.
On Thursday night, no one answered the door of the brothers' North Side townhouse. A neighbor said police officers were inside the townhouse Wednesday and that one of the doors appeared damaged. Another neighbor described the brothers as "aspiring actors."
Smollett has told police he was walking back from a Subway shop toward his apartment building when two men shouted racial and homophobic slurs at him, hit him and wrapped a rope around his neck while yelling, "This is MAGA country!" Smollett is black, openly gay and an activist for LGBTQ rights.
On the day police announced they had taken the brothers into custody, Smollett gave his first TV interview about the incident and tried to end doubts that have grown about the attack.
"I respect too much the people who _ I am now one of those people _ who have been attacked in any way," he told "Good Morning America" co-anchor Robin Roberts. "You do such a disservice when you lie about things like this."
A week before the attack, Smollett told police he received a threatening letter at work. Witnesses told police a postal worker dropped off the letter at the Chicago studio where "Empire" is filmed. It was postmarked in southwest suburban Bedford Park on Jan. 18 and bore two American flag stamps. The letters MAGA were written in the upper-left corner of the envelope.
Smollett said a stick figure was shown hanging from a tree with the words, "Smollett Jussie you will die black (expletive)."
"Did I make that up too?" Smollett asked in the interview with Roberts.
Police have not said whether they believe the two incidents are related, and so far they are being investigated separately _ the letter by the FBI and the alleged attack by Chicago police.
Chicago detectives have sought Smollett's phone records since shortly after he reported the attack because he said he was on the phone with his manager when it occurred. But police said this week that the records Smollett and his manager provided were redacted PDFs that were not sufficient for solving the case.
"They wanted me to give my phone to the tech for three to four hours. I'm sorry but _ I'm not gonna do that," Smollett said. "Because I have private pictures and videos and numbers: my partner's number, my family's number, my castmates' numbers, my friends' numbers, my private emails, my private songs, my private voice memos."
He added: "I don't know what that's gonna be, to hand over my phone for _ and honestly, by then, inaccurate, false statements had already been put out there."
