Two Nigerian brothers were arrested in the Jussie Smollett hate crime case and later released without charges. Reports are now claiming that were not only hired by Smollett to stage the attack, they are also believed to have rehearsed the incident with the Empire actor beforehand.
Smollet is said to have paid the bodybuilding brothers $3,500 before they left for Nigeria on January 29, the day of the attack. Another payment of $500 was promised to them upon they return to the United States, according to CBS Chicago sources.
According to these new reports, the Osundairo brothers told the police they staged attack was scheduled to take place before January 29 and that they had practiced the scenario days before it finally went down. Smollett is said to have paid for the rope they used in the attack, purchased in the Ravenwood neighborhood's Crafty Beaver Hardware Store on January 25.
One brother allegedly held the rope aroundSmollett neck and poured bleach over him during the 2 AM attack, while the other wore the MAGA hat, purchased at an Uptown beauty supply store, and shouted racist and homophobic slurs.
Jussie Smollett has already denied having any involvement in the orchestration of the attack.