cont.
the two men, who are brothers, went from persons of interest to potential suspects to being released without charges.
Sources said the brothers are now cooperating with police.
Smollett has said two men attacked him while he was walking home around 2 a.m. on Jan. 29. He claimed they yelled racial and homophobic slurs at him, beat him, poured a chemical on him and put a rope around his neck.
Sources told CBS 2 News that Smollett paid the two men $3,500 to stage the attack in Streeterville. The brothers, seen on surveillance video near the scene of the alleged attack, told investigators Smollett directed them to buy the rope used in the incident, and paid for the purchase at Crafty Beaver Hardware Store in Ravenswood days before the incident.
The brothers, who were questioned by police last week before being released, were paid $3,500 before leaving for Nigeria and were promised an additional $500 upon their return.
They left for Nigeria later in the day on Jan. 29, after the attack.
Sources said one of the brothers held the rope and poured bleach while the other wore a plain red hat and yelled slurs at Smollett.
The sources say the red hat was bought at an Uptown beauty supply store and that the attack was supposed to happen before Jan. 29. The brothers told detectives the three men rehearsed the attack days prior to it happening.
https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2019/02/18/jussie-smollett-case-investigation-alleged-attack-brothers-released/
All three men rehearsed their plan just days before everything played out.
Police raided the the brothers’ home on Wednesday, the same day police met them at O’Hare International Airport, as they were returning from Nigeria.
Pictures from the raid show the front door broken off its frame, items thrown across the living room, bedroom doors damaged and clothes tossed everywhere.
Police left behind an inventory list. Some of the items seized include a black face mask hat, an Empire script, phone, receipts, a red hat and bleach.