Empire star Jussie Smollett paid two men $3,500 to stage an assault against him which he later claimed was an attack motivated by racism and homophobia, investigators in Chicago now believe.
The two men involved in the alleged hoax are now fully cooperating with law enforcement, CNN is reporting on Saturday.
On January 29, two men 'yelled out racial and homophobic slurs' while attacking Smollett, the actor told police.
One of the assailants tied a rope around his neck and poured an unknown chemical substance on him, Smollett claimed at the time.
During the attack, the assailants yelled 'Empire f****t' and 'Empire n*****,' the actor has long maintained.
That narrative, however, is now under serious scrutiny by investigators, who reportedly have evidence that Smollett directed his 'attackers' to buy the rope used in the 'assault' at a local hardware store.
Empire star Jussie Smollett (above) has hired Michael Cohen's high-powered criminal defense attorney, as the police investigation into the attack he reported last month took a sudden shift
Abimbola 'Abel' (left) and Olabinjo 'Ola' Osundairo (right) were arrested on Wednesday night at Chicago O'Hare airport, as they returned from a trip to visit family in Nigeria
Documents prove two Nigerian brothers who work as extras on the highly rated Fox drama bought the rope which was found around Smollett’s neck at Crafty Beaver Hardware Store in Chicago.
The brothers made the purchase on the weekend of January 25.
They also bought to red plain hats that they wore during the alleged attack, according to sources close to the investigation.
Chicago police are now ‘eager to speak to Jussie Smollett’ in light of the new information that was uncovered, according to ABC News.
Filing a false report to police in the State of Illinois is considered an act of disorderly conduct, which is a Class 4 felony.
That means that anyone found guilty could face between one and three years in prison.
By law, the crime of disorderly conduct is committed in Illinois by anyone who 'transmits or causes to be transmitted in any manner to any peace officer, public officer or public employee a report to the effect that an offense will be committed, is being committed, or has been committed, knowing at the time of the transmission that there is no reasonable ground for believing that the offense will be committed, is being committed, or has been committed.'
Last week, a central Illinois man was sentenced to three years in state prison after he pleaded guilty to fabricating an Amber alert.
On December 15, Mitchell Dutz, 18, told police that three black men stole his car with a 13-month-old infant inside.
Dutz used a social media photo of a child he did not know to claim that there was a kidnapping, according to Peoria Journal Star.
But police rescinded the Amber alert after it became clear that it was a hoax.
Dutz pleaded guilty to motor-vehicle burglary and disorderly conduct.
Last month, a Chicago woman was charged with a felony after she allegedly made a 911 call that turned out to be a 'swatting' incident.
Keesha S. Ingram, 41, allegedly called police before dawn on December 11 to report that a man was threatening to shoot his wife in their home in Warren Township.
Sheriff's deputies responded to the call. They arrived at the scene and set up a perimeter around the house.
After making contact with the residents inside, the deputies determined there was no incident to warrant an arrest, according to the Daily Herald.
Authorities then determined that they were dealing with a 'swatting' incident whereby a person falsely reports an ongoing crime at a particular address in order to harass the individual who lives there.
An investigation led back to Ingram, who is alleged to have known one of the people who lived in the Warren Township home.
Investigators believe Ingram made the swatting call out of revenge against the victim, whom she accused of not paying her money that was owed to her.
Ingram is still on the loose and is wanted for arrest, according to Patch.
‘We have been in touch with Smollett's attorneys,’ a Chicago Police Department spokesperson said.
‘We made our intentions clear,’ he said.
Brothers Olabinjo 'Ola' Osundairo, 27, and Abimbola 'Abel' Osundairo, 25, were cut loose from police custody late on Friday. They had been held since Wednesday, after being picked up at O'Hare Airport while disembarking a flight from Nigeria.
The brothers were paid $3,500 before leaving for Nigeria and were promised another $500 upon returning, according to WBBM-TV.
Earlier on Saturday, Smollett hired Michael Cohen's high-powered criminal defense attorney, as the police investigation into the attack he reported last month took a sudden shift amid allegations of a hoax.
Attorney Michael Monico, a former federal prosecutor in the Northern District of Illinois, revealed in a radio interview on Thursday in Chicago that he is representing Smollett.
Chicago PD confirmed on Thursday that the pair seen in this image from surveillance footage around the time of the attack on January 29 (above) were Abel and Ola Osundairo
Monico, speaking on WGN's The Roe Conn Show, did not reveal how long he has been representing Smollet or in what capacity. Monico last month took over as co-counsel for Cohen, President Donald Trump's former lawyer.
It came as police in Chicago suddenly released the two Nigerian extras on Smollett's show, who had previously been described as suspects in the attack, saying that 'new evidence' had emerged in their interrogations that requires further detective work.
'Due to new evidence as a result of today's interrogations, the individuals questioned by police in the Empire case have now been released without charging and detectives have additional investigative work to complete,' Chicago Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement on Friday night.
The Osundairo brothers' attorney, Gloria Schmidt, spoke briefly to reporters after their release, hinting that Smollett's legal future could hold difficulties.
'There's so many moving parts to this that will come out in time,' Schmidt said when asked if her clients had helped Smollett stage the attack. 'I'm going to let them tell their story when the time is right.'
Smollett made international headlines after reporting the attack on January 29, in which he said two white men assaulted him at 2am on a Chicago street, shouting vile racist and homophobic slurs.
Michael Monico (above) revealed in a radio interview on Thursday that he is Smollett's lawyer
The actor said that he fought back bravely as the two men shouted 'this is MAGA country,' poured bleach on him, and looped a noose around his neck.
Smollett has vigorously denied speculation that details of the attack were fabricated or staged, speaking out in an interview that aired on
