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Was the Jussie Smollett Story a Hoax?
Several weeks ago, during the coldest snap Chicago has ever experienced, detectives were busy trying to solve what would have been the crime of the year: an actor on the television show Empire was attacked with bleach and a noose, out in freezing cold temperatures in the dead of the night. His attackers reportedly were screaming about his race (he’s black) and his sexual orientation (he’s gay) while declaring Chicago (yes, Chicago) to be “MAGA country.”
Immediately, the attack was decried by politicians, fellow actors, etc. A few examples:
On account of potential deletions, here are a few screenshots of tweets from politicians: pic.twitter.com/7WASdxN19w
— Alex Macias (@AspConservative) February 15, 2019
— Alex Macias (@AspConservative) February 15, 2019
— Alex Macias (@AspConservative) February 15, 2019
The account above has dozens more screenshots along the same lines (click the thread and you can scan more).
The story, as implausible as it sounded to most thinking Americans, started falling apart. Smollett was reluctant to hand over his phone records, and despite being a city covered with cameras, there wasn’t a single one in the area that caught the attack. Some of the strangest elements were the fact that Smollett kept the noose around his neck half an hour after the attack, and that he managed to keep holding onto his Subway sandwich, purchased before his attack but present when police questioned him later.
Tonight a local reporter with ABC reported,
BREAKING: Multiple soucres tell @ABC7Chicago Eyewitness News Jussie Smollet and the 2 men who are being questioned by police staged the attack – allegedly because his character was being written out of the show Empire.
— Rob Elgas (@RobElgasABC7) February 15, 2019
The police department are disputing the reporting,
NEW: Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson called @ABC7Chicago tonight to say Jussie Smollett is considered a victim and the police investigation is on-going.
— Rob Elgas (@RobElgasABC7) February 15, 2019
It sounds like folks within the police department may have leaked a theory too soon. Time will tell.
But if Smollett did indeed concoct this story out of whole cloth, he should face the same consequences as his would-have-been perpetrator. Fabricating hate crimes should carry the same penalty as committing them; because now other victims of actual crimes have an even more uphill battle to being believed. And if the story is indeed fabricated, it’s clear Smollett did something particularly damaging: he decided to create a story that wouldn’t just make it harder for victims of hate crimes to be believed, but would also increase tensions in a country and in a city that cannot withstand more fuel on our societal bonfire of anger and resentment. That’s a crime against most Americans, and it’s one that nobody should take lightly.
Published in Culture
Smollett’s 2 Nigerian buddies have now been arrested. No word on the charges. Here we go. They must be pert of the Nigerian chapter of MAGA Nazis.
I think Jussie added the rope after he returned home.
Then again, James may be on to something because there was this new “Anti-lynching” Bill that passed the Senate yesterday.
Can I get the news source for this.
there is CNN, but I have been told they can be “fake news”.
US citizens “of Nigerian descent.” One reportedly has appeared as an extra on “Empire.” Good Morning America has it.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=smollett&ia=news&iar=news
Are they white MAGA-lovin’ Nigerian brothers, one of whom worked with Smollett? ‘Cause that would explain everything.
So . . . he successfully fought off these two guys?
This is sort of a legal question for the Ricochet lawyers out there:
If I hire two guys to beat me up, and pour some bleach on my outer clothing, and put a rope around my neck, but then they forget to take my sandwich, is Donald Trump responsible?
Brian,
You show promise. Have you ever considered a career in politics with the Democrats? Anyway, the answer should be all too obvious. Donald Trump is responsible for every bad thing that happens to everyone.
Regards,
Jim
You’re assuming it’s a bad thing if that guy got beat up.
MWM,
Touche. You also show promise. Forget the law try the philosophy department. They could use someone who actually believes in something.
Regards,
Jim
Looking at the various stories, it appears that Smollett turned over some of his phone records to the police, not knowing that the police already had obtained his phone records from his phone provider. The reports say that he had redacted some of his phone calls from the records he turned over by loading the records into Excel, deleting certain rows, and then generating a PDF which he gave to police. That made it easy for police to know which calls he didn’t want them knowing about since they had the full set for comparison. I haven’t seen anything which directly says that’s what led the police to the two current suspects, but it’s strongly implied. And if it turns out that he had phone conversations with the suspects then… boom. There goes the story. The police are still saying that they consider Smollett to be the victim, but that might be because they’re waiting until they can get a confession and work out a plea deal with the other suspects to roll over on him.
If they do, I wonder how many of the celebrities and journalists who blamed conservatives for the attack will admit it was a hoax and apologize? Surely most of them will. And I’m sure there will be lots of hand-wringing and much discussion about jumping to conclusions.
I’m kidding. We all know they will say nothing and just pretend it never happened.
Hahaaa! Yeah, makes me wonder how long they’ll keep up the
shamstory under police interrogation. Jussie better have something worse on them than alleged assault with a deadly twine and clothes whitening bleach.I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I should wait for the police to do their jobs. Je suis desole!
Nick,
Being a lefty means never having to say you’re sorry.
Regards,
Jim
Check out the PowerLine article: https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2019/02/thoughts-from-the-ammo-line-260.php
This is from Ammogrrlll
I think the perpetrators were brilliant haters.
The Hannibal Lecters of hate.
Four-dimensional boxing.
Textbook “rednecks”. Will they be charged with cultural appropriation?
I’m with you on this one.
#Ibelievejussiebecausethefreezingpointofhouseholdbleachisonly10degreeshigherthanthetemperatureinchicagoat2AMon29january
#Ibelievejussiebecausehecanfighttwodudeswhileholdingatunasubandthatsprettycool
On the positive side it should be seen as progress when we see the MAGA racists are becoming all inclusive in accepting people of color into their ranks.
This could have been a Rough Trade Teaching Moment.
Oh well. There will be others.
From CWBChicago, via Gateway Pundit:
Note: Smollett went on “Good Morning America” and said that he had no doubt that the two shadowy blobs in the security video shots were his attackers. Then CPD announced that the Osundairo brothers had been detained for questioning. Now they have been released.
Did they flip on Jussie?
What about the woman who saw the “redneck” with a rope?
If two random innocent white guys had been recorded on any of the videos, what’s the over/under on the number of “witnesses” would say they had seen those guys carrying bleach and a rope five minutes earlier.
Given that the windchill adjusted temperature was in the neighborhood of -50° F, how would one be able to tell someone was a redneck by looking?
By using the same identification magic the MAGA racists used to identify Smollett as being a homosexual.
By the privilege, of course.
Couldn’t they have picked a night with better weather conditions to perpetrate their
hoaxhate crime?What am I saying? It’s Chicago.
Reasonableness, particularly in this episode, is not necessarily germane. Sounds more like a hissy fit, induced by who knows which, or how many events (or how long before 2 AM).
Police sources: New evidence suggests Jussie Smollett orchestrated attack
Chicago (CNN) Two law enforcement sources with knowledge of the investigation told CNN that Chicago Police believe Jussie Smollett paid two men to orchestrate the assault.
Nigerian Redneck Scam.