{"id":1074085,"date":"2021-12-01T19:28:52","date_gmt":"2021-12-02T00:28:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1074085"},"modified":"2021-12-01T19:28:56","modified_gmt":"2021-12-02T00:28:56","slug":"man-who-worked-with-jussie-smollett-tells-court-he-was-recruited-to-fake-beat-up-the-disgraced-actor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/man-who-worked-with-jussie-smollett-tells-court-he-was-recruited-to-fake-beat-up-the-disgraced-actor\/","title":{"rendered":"Man Who Worked with Jussie Smollett Tells Court He was Recruited to &#039;Fake Beat Up&#039; the Disgraced Actor"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">36<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fman-who-worked-with-jussie-smollett-tells-court-he-was-recruited-to-fake-beat-up-the-disgraced-actor%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1074085&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"subheading\">CHICAGO (AP) \u2014 A man who worked with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/tag\/jussie-smollett\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jussie Smollett<\/a> testified Wednesday that the former \u201cEmpire\u201d actor recruited him and his brother to fake a homophobic and racist attack on him in downtown Chicago nearly three years ago.<\/p>\n<p>Abimbola Osundairo said Smollett asked him and his brother \u201cto fake beat him up\u201d and instructed them on how to carry out the January 2019 hoax. Smollett planned a \u201cdry run\u201d and gave him a $100 bill to buy supplies for the staged attack, Osundairo said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>He said he and his brother agreed because Osundairo, who worked as a stand-in on \u201cEmpire,\u201d felt indebted to Smollett for helping him with his acting career.<\/p>\n<p>Smollett, 39, is charged with six counts of felony disorderly conduct for making what prosecutors say was a false police report \u2014 one count for each time he gave a report, to three different officers. The class 4 felony carries a prison sentence of up to three years, but experts have said if Smollett is convicted he likely would be placed on probation and ordered to perform community service.<\/p>\n<p>Smollett\u2019s defense attorney says he was a \u201creal victim\u201d and that the brothers\u2019 accounts are unreliable.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<div id=\"attachment_18969178\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" readability=\"38\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/1000.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-18969178\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/1000.jpeg\" alt width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Abimbola Osundairo, walks through the lobby of the Leighton Criminal Courthouse courtroom after a lunch break in the trial of actor Jussie Smollett Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021, in Chicago. (AP Photo\/Charles Rex Arbogast)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Osundairo said that a few days prior to the attack, Smollett showed him some hate mail he said he received at the \u201cEmpire\u201d studio. Jurors viewed the note, which included a drawing of a person hanging by a noose, with a gun pointed at the stick figure and the letters \u201cMAGA,\u201d an apparent reference to then-President Donald Trump\u2019s slogan \u201cMake America Great Again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said a few days later that Smollett sent him a text message asking to meet up \u201con the low,\u201d which he took to meet in private about something secret. Osundairo said when they met up, Smollett asked him \u201cto beat him up\u201d and asked if his brother could help.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was confused, I look puzzled,\u201d Osundairo said, and then \u201che explained he wanted me to fake beat him up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Osundairo said that prior to the staged attack, Smollett drove the brothers to the spot where the attack would occur, and they decided the men should throw bleach on Smollett rather than the original plan to use gasoline. He also said Smollett said a camera in the area would record the attack.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cHe wanted a camera to catch it,\u201d Osundairo said.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Watch below:&nbsp;<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Actor Jussie Smollett arrives at court for trial\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hfNiCexP8f8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<p>Earlier Wednesday, a Chicago police detective testified that Smollett appeared troubled when he was told that a surveillance camera did not record the alleged assault. Chicago police detective Kimberly Murray said she interviewed the former \u201cEmpire\u201d actor the morning of the attack and that he told her he had been assaulted by two men \u2014 one white and wearing a ski mask, the other he couldn\u2019t see \u2014 as he was returning home after buying a sandwich.<\/p>\n<p>Murray also said Smollett told her he had received a threatening phone call days earlier, but he refused to hand over his cellphone, which the detective said could help police piece together a timeline of what happened, and he wouldn\u2019t consent to giving medical records or a DNA swab.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>She said Smollett was \u201cupset\u201d when she told him a surveillance camera in the area didn\u2019t capture the alleged attack because it was pointed away from the scene. Murray said she explained to the actor that the cover on the pod camera makes it impossible to know which way it is pointing.<\/p>\n<p>A Chicago police officer testified Tuesday that investigators tracked down two possible suspects in the assault \u2014 the brothers who also worked on the \u201cEmpire\u201d set in Chicago \u2014 using surveillance video and taxi and rideshare records. When taken into custody, they detailed for police how Smollett orchestrated the fake attack, including buying supplies and doing a \u201cdry run\u201d with them.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_18969210\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" readability=\"38\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/1000-2-1.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-18969210\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/1000-2-1.jpeg\" alt width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Actor Jussie Smollett asks photographers to move back as he arrives with his mother Janet, right, at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse for day three of his trial in Chicago on Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. (AP Photo\/Charles Rex Arbogast)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>A detective who interviewed Smollett two weeks after the alleged assault \u2014 and after the brothers, who are Black, had been taken into custody \u2014 said Smollett started to change his story. Smollett told Graves his attacker had \u201cpale skin,\u201d when he previously said he was white. When Graves confronted Smollett about the discrepancy, Smollett said the attacker \u201cacted like he was white by what he said.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Graves also told Smollett that Abimbola Osundairo and his brother Olabingo, were in custody for the hate crime.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said \u2018It can\u2019t be them, they\u2019re black as sin,\u2019\u201d Graves recounted, saying he took that to mean the brothers\u2019 skin is very dark.<\/p>\n<p>Graves testified that during the Feb. 14 interview, Smollett said he would sign a complaint against the brothers, though his attorney stopped him from doing so. About 90 minutes later, Smollett sent one of the brothers a text message, Graves said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBrother\u2026 I love you. I stand with you,\u201d the message read. \u201cI know 1000% you and your brother did nothing wrong and never would. I am making a statement so everyone else knows. They will not get away with this. Please hit me when they let you go. I\u2019m behind you fully.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Graves said he concluded Smollett had lied to him.<\/p>\n<p>Defense attorney Nenye Uche has said the brothers attacked Smollett, who is Black and gay, \u201cbecause of who he is\u201d and suggested Tuesday that the brothers were homophobic.<\/p>\n<p>After their arrest, the Osundairo brothers told police Smollett asked them to stage the attack because he was unhappy about how the TV studio handled hate mail he had received, a lead detective on the case, Michael Theis, testified Tuesday. He said investigators corroborated their version of events using GPS, cellphone records and video evidence and found no instance where they concluded the men were lying.<\/p>\n<p>Jurors were shown surveillance video Tuesday of the brothers buying supplies, including a red hat they told police Smollett wanted them to wear to resemble supporters of then-President Donald Trump, and a piece of clothesline police said was later fashioned into the noose. Jurors also saw a still image from a video that Theis said showed Smollett returning home the night of the alleged attack, with the clothesline draped around his shoulders. The clothesline was wrapped around his neck when officers arrived, Theis said, leading detectives to believe Smollett may have retied it.<\/p>\n<p>Uche has portrayed the Osundairo brothers as unreliable, and said when police searched their home they found heroin and guns. The brothers will testify at trial, but it\u2019s unknown if Smollett will.<\/p>\n<p>Uche also sought to discredit the police investigation, suggesting detectives ignored possible leads. And he said a $3,500 check the actor paid the brothers was for personal training so he could prepare for an upcoming music video, not for carrying out the hoax, as prosecutors allege. Theis said the memo on the check said it was for \u201cnutrition\u201d and \u201ctraining.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CHICAGO (AP) \u2014 A man who worked with Jussie Smollett testified Wednesday that the former \u201cEmpire\u201d actor recruited him and his brother to fake a homophobic and racist attack on &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1074085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1074085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1074085"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1074085\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1074085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1074085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1074085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}