IL - Actor Jussie Smollett allegedly attacked in hate crime being black & gay Jan 2019 *ARRESTS*

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  • #441
Actually, what I find most disturbing about Mr. Smollett's attack, is the scary fact that people can be on camera and filmed almost every minute in Chicago, at almost every angle. Excepting the 60 seconds Mr. Smollett was not on camera. Another amazing anomaly in this situation.
 
  • #442
Good Morning America@GMA posted: 56 min

.@JussieSmollett tells @RobinRoberts that there is no doubt in his mind that the men pictured in surveillance footage attacked him. "I don't have any doubt in my mind that that's them." See more of the EXCLUSIVE interview TOMORROW on @GMA. http://gma.abc/2X3c8Tx
So, he’s seeing the same video shot from far away of the two dark silhouettes with hardly any discernible features that everyone else is seeing, right? Not some well-lit closeups. Because he doesn’t have any doubt in his mind. Just making sure he isn’t looking at some other video.
 
  • #443
So, he’s seeing the same video shot from far away of the two dark silhouettes with hardly any discernible features that everyone else is seeing, right? Not some well-lit closeups. Because he doesn’t have any doubt in his mind. Just making sure he isn’t looking at some other video.

Given LE wanted the public to identify them I assume the picture we saw was the clearest one they had although I do think its odd that they released a still rather than a video because often people can have very distinctive walks
 
  • #444

Small summary of the video:
He says that they yelled at him while crossing the intersection and he yelled back and then got punched in the face. Jussie punched the attacker back and then they started "tussling" by the stairs. Fighting, fighting, fighting then theres a second person kicking him in his back then it just stopped and they ran off and he" saw where they ran " (note police report states that he does not remember in which direction the attackers fled so perhaps it came to him later?). Manager is still on the phone so he picks it up and says "Brandon" "He says whats going on" "I was just jumped". Then he looks down and theres a rope around his neck. Robin asks him how long it took, he says it felt like minutes but it was probably 30 seconds. He says when he noticed the rope around his neck he started screaming and saying "theres a rope around my neck". He says he gave a body description because the attacker was wearing a ski mask. He says he has no doubt that the still image the police released was of his attackers

No mention of the substance being poured on him that was described in the initial police report.
Thats only the first portion of the interview, they haven't said how many more parts there'll be but that the timing of the 911 call will be discussed in another part
 
  • #445
Oh that's interesting... I don't see any tears. However, I do see a grin as he pulls up his lips to close his eyes.

Body language readers may get a kick out of trying to interpret the victims interview tomorrow. But, I don't think that much more will be gleamed from his interview. After all, the investigation is on-going and he wouldn't want to jeopardize anything with these two treacherous MAGA lovin' knuckle dragging peasants walking the streets.

I believe the victim will promote the reassurances that he has received from Superintendent Eddie Johnson that he is a victim, and will always be...always.
He like, really likes saying "like". Like, it's so annoying!:rolleyes:
 
  • #446
(snipped by coffeeandacig)
No mention of the substance being poured on him that was described in the initial police report.
Thats only the first portion of the interview, they haven't said how many more parts there'll be but that the timing of the 911 call will be discussed in another part

Thank you maggieg!
I haven't had my 14th cup of coffee this morning, so I'm in no shape yet to wrap my head around this interview. o_O
But...GMA has a lot more quotes from the full interview when you scroll down past the video here.
Jussie Smollett heartbroken over criticism after attack
 
  • #447
"They ran off, I didn't."

OK, why is this not on ANY video?
 
  • #448
  • #449
Someone correct me if I am wrong, in the interview he states those two men are the attackers. Weren't those two men not in the area at the time Jussie was? They were seen walking away less than a hour earlier as reported in the Washington Post?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts...-potential-hate-crime/?utm_term=.787f41923b98
Yes. It is so confusing to me too. Also they have to have more video footage of the 2 suspects. They just can't go "invisible". Is there video of the 2 walking in the direction of the attack where no camera covers it and is there video of them leaving area of the attack. If there is video of JS walking to the area of the attack and video of JS walking away from the area of attack that would also have to be true for the attackers....right??
 
  • #450
Part 2 is on youtube but its not the offical ABC video so the sound quality isn't as good



Asked why he didn't report straight away, he says pride and didn't want to be seen as weak as he thinks that gay men are often seen as weak which they are not.
He says it took the police about a half hour to come.

Then theres a photo at 0.43 with the other side of his face, theres another abrasion and a little cut on his other cheek and he says that there is a bruise on his neck which he describes as "rope burn".
Then he says he smelled bleach and he noticed some spots on his sweatshirt. He kept the clothes on, he kept the rope on. He says the rope wasn't wrapped around but it was around to "let them see to see what this was".

When the police arrived he says he asked them to turn their body cams off because they just wanted to stay in the hallway and he didn't want a big scene with his neighbors. With the second round of police officers he went down with them to where it happened and he looked up and there was a camera directly on the light post in the intersection where he crossed. However it turns out the camera inside the casing was facing north and didn't capture it which he describes as "disappointing".

He defends his decision to go to subway at 2am, says thats what its there for.
The camera facing North "how is that my issue". He says it feels like if he had said it was a muslim or mexican or black person he feels like the doubters would have supported him more "and that says a lot about where we are in our country now".

Says they wanted him to give his phone to the "tech" for 3-4 hours "I'm sorry I'm not gonna do that". says he has private pictures and videos and numbers, private emails, songs, voice memos. He says by then false statements had been put forward.

His attorneys say hes willing to cooperate vis a vis the phone records.

Says the MAGA hats thing is inaccurate, says he doesn't need to embellish what happened. Says the idea its a date gone wrong is offensive, says he used to be on Grindr but hasn't been in years.

Says they did x-rays but nothing was broken he was just in pain, his clavicle was "messed up" his rib was bruised but he walked in and out of hospital.

Robin asks why he was targeted? He says he assumes its because hes been outspoken against Trump and his administration and doesn't hold his tongue. Asks what he thought about Trumps comments on his attack, he says he appreciates he didn't brush over it.

Robin asks if theres any doubt in his mind what motivated the attack? He says no. He says he "will never be the man that this didn't happen to. I am forever changed and I don't subscribe to the idea that everything happens for a reason but that we have the right and responsibility to make something meaningful out of the things that happen to us good and bad".
 
  • #451
"He says it feels like if he had said it was a muslim or mexican or black person he feels like the doubters would have supported him more "and that says a lot about where we are in our country now".

YUCK!
 
  • #452
smollettmap2.jpg
The route the victim took from his apartment according to his statement on GMA.

Leaving his apartment at around midnight, as previously reported, he walked North on New Street. Went to the Walgreens, on East Illinois Street, which was closed. Walked east to the Subway on McClurg Court.
On his return trip, he walked south on McClurg Court, around East River Drive and then north on New Street. He arrived at the staircase at the southwest corner of New Street and Lower North Water Street, when the incident took place.
 
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  • #453
Part 3:

Asked what people need to hear? He says "the truth" and for LGBT and black children to know how powerful they are.

Robin asks if hes ever been threatened before? "Yeah, I get threatened all the time on twitter, instagrams, DMs". He says hes an outspoken public figure, maybe too outspoken but its who he is.

Asked if theres a connection between the letter and the attack he says of course there was someone hanging from a tree and MAGA written on it and then says incredulously "did I make that up too?"

"Smollett says he wants to rewrite the narrative of that night saying he fought back against his attackers and talked to police after his creative director called 911". He says he wants the video found so badly, they ran away not him, he fought.

He wants young gay men to learn how to be fighters, he says hes not advocating violence but "if you're gonna die, fight until you do because if you don't fight you have no chance"

"I'm an advocate. I respect too much the people(I am now one of those people) who have been attacked in any way. You do such a disservice when you lie about things like this"

Says he doesn't know how he'll heal if the attackers aren't found "lets just hope that they are, lets not go there yet". Talks about that they could attack someone else. He still wants to believe in justice

Theres going to be more of the interview on nightline
 
  • #454
<modsnip: not victim friendly>

I have even more questions now than I did before. I’m curious how he knows the shadowy figures were definitely the perpetrators. How could he ID them from that grainy surveillance footage?

Hope this is resolved one way or another.
 
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  • #455
Part 3:

Asked what people need to hear? He says "the truth" and for LGBT and black children to know how powerful they are.

Robin asks if hes ever been threatened before? "Yeah, I get threatened all the time on twitter, instagrams, DMs". He says hes an outspoken public figure, maybe too outspoken but its who he is.

Asked if theres a connection between the letter and the attack he says of course there was someone hanging from a tree and MAGA written on it and then says incredulously "did I make that up too?"

"Smollett says he wants to rewrite the narrative of that night saying he fought back against his attackers and talked to police after his creative director called 911". He says he wants the video found so badly, they ran away not him, he fought.

He wants young gay men to learn how to be fighters, he says hes not advocating violence but "if you're gonna die, fight until you do because if you don't fight you have no chance"

"I'm an advocate. I respect too much the people(I am now one of those people) who have been attacked in any way. You do such a disservice when you lie about things like this"

Says he doesn't know how he'll heal if the attackers aren't found "lets just hope that they are, lets not go there yet". Talks about that they could attack someone else. He still wants to believe in justice

Theres going to be more of the interview on nightline

If he's getting threats in his DMs on social media, I am surprised he hasn't been more cooperative with his phone records. What if one of the people who threatened him in his DMs is one of the perps? It would probably be a good idea for LE to be able to look into the threats he's received. jmo
 
  • #456
  • #457
From the story:

Chicago police have identified “persons of interest” in the alleged attack of “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett.
“These individuals are not yet suspects but were in area of concern and are being questioned,” Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi tweeted.​

Chicago police questioning ‘persons of interest’ in alleged attack on Jussie Smollett

Anthony Guglielmi on Twitter
Anthony Guglielmi on Twitter

Really interesting timing on the part of CPD issuing that release, just after the GMA interview.
 
  • #458
  • #459
At the risk of opening my mind... It’s possible that all of these odd circumstances happened exactly as he said, and he’s just super unlucky that no cameras captured the attack, etc. We’ve seen stranger stuff here. Imagine this happened and people don’t believe him - that would be infuriating.

If indeed it happened, I’ll feel awful for him. And I’ll feel awful for not believing him.
 
  • #460
I just can't get past two random racists on the Chicago streets in the middle of the night even recognizing him, nevermind jumping him.
 
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