From the Chicago Tribune:
[Comment at Unz.com]Tracy Swartz, Jeremy Gorner, Annie Sweeney
Chicago TribuneChicago police said Saturday they have reached out to the attorney for “Empire” star Jussie Smollett because they still want to speak to Smollett after releasing two brothers they had been questioning about a reported attack against the actor.
Twelve hours after calling them “possible suspects,” police late Friday released the brothers without filing any charges, citing “new evidence” they did not disclose.
“Detectives have additional investigative work to complete,” police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a tweet.
Outside the South Side police station where the brothers were held for two days, their lawyer told reporters Friday night that “innocence prevailed” but was vague about why her clients were taken into custody and why they were released. …
Police sources have said detectives are investigating the possibility that Smollett had the brothers fake the attack around 2 a.m. Jan. 29 in Streeterville. Schmidt has said the brothers have worked with Smollett on “Empire” and use the same gym. Smollett follows the brothers’ bodybuilding page on Instagram.
Pressed about speculation that Smollett set up the attack, Schmidt said “there’s still a lot of moving parts to this. … I’m not part of Jussie’s defense. I’m not part of what’s going on with him. I can just tell you that my guys (are) innocent of the charge and they’re going home.”
Asked about the “new evidence” police mentioned, Schmidt said, “Obviously I had it. Obviously my clients had it. But I think it took a matter of coordination.” She would not say what that was.
… Chicago criminal defense attorney Michael Monico, who is representing Smollett, declined to comment. …
