It’s the $3,500 check that Smollett allegedly used to pay the two men who attacked him.
“Mr. Smollett is the one that orchestrated this crime,” said Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson in a press conference Thursday where authorities described how they came to discredit Smollett’s claims, leading to afelony charge against him for allegedly filing a false police report.
Jussie Smollett.Chicago Police Department/AP/REX/Shutterstock
Smollett, who turned himself in on Thursday morning, appeared in Cook County Circuit Court later in the day where his bond was set at $100,000, reports theAssociated Press.
“These are outrageous allegations” that Smollett denies, one of his attorneys, Jack Prior, told the judge, but the defense team and Smollett’s family members left the court without further comment.
Jussie Smollett.Kamil Krzaczynski/AP/Shutterstock
The superintendent, a Chicago native who also is black, added: “Jussie Smollett took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to advance his career.”
“I’m left hanging my head and asking why,” he said. “Why would anyone, especially an African American man, use the symbolism of a noose to make false accusations? How could someone look at the hate and suffering associated with that symbol and see an opportunity to manipulate that symbol to further his own public profile?”
Jussie Smollett.Leon Bennett/Getty
After video surveillance cameras in the area of the alleged attack captured two men on the street “we believed were the likely suspects” — although not the attack itself — authorities tracked the men’s movements to a ride-share service whose pay account revealed their identities, said police Commander Edward Wodnicki.
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Police arrested the men upon their return, and near the end of 48 hours in custody they allegedly confessed their role in working with Smollett to stage the attack, police said. They were then released.
The men’s motivation for allegedly helping Smollett was “financial,” he said, adding that at least one of the men had worked on theEmpireset and Smollett likely recruited them in part for their physical “bulk.”
Neither of the two men has been charged in connection with the case.
Asked what the police superintendent would consider to be justice for Smollett in the case, Johnson told reporters: “Absolute justice would be an apology to this city that he smeared. Admitting what he did, and then be man enough to offer what he should offer up in terms of all the resources that were put into this.”
source: people.com
