As testimony kicked off in the trial of actor Jussie Smollett, who has been charged with disorderly conduct for allegedly filing a false report that he was a victim of a hate crime attack in 2019--an incident that police say Smollett staged—the lead detective who investigated the incident stated in court that Smollett was uncooperative during the Chicago Police Department’s initial probe.
Detective Michael Theis testified that Smollett declined to hand over his cell phone and would not provide medical records or a sample for DNA testing to identify the attackers he claimed had put a noose around his neck because he’s black and openly gay, according to CBS News Chicago and Fox News.
Theis testified that between 24 and 26 officers worked on the case and dedicated over 3,000 hours to it, according to CBS News Chicago.
The detective said he directed so much manpower at investigating the incident because it was “horrible” and there was so much public attention to Smollett’s claims, including that the attackers had yelled that he was in “MAGA country.”
The detective said the Osundairo brothers told police that Smollett staged the attack because he received a threatening letter at the studio where his show Empire was being filmed and allegedly felt that the studio did not take it seriously enough.
“Jussie Smollett is a real victim,” Uche said in his opening statement Monday and claimed the Osundairo brothers really attacked Smollett, the Associated Press reported.
...
SOUTH LEBANON — Israeli and Lebanese senior officials on Thursday denied reports that the Israeli army had withdrawn part of its troops from the “buffer zone” in occupied southern Lebanon, followi...