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<\/a>Actor Jussie Smollett File Photo by: zz\/Dennis Van Tine\/STAR MAX\/IPx 2018 5\/14\/18 Jussie Smollett at The 2018 Fox Network Upfront in New York City. (NYC)<\/p><\/div>\n
The bizarre case of Jussie Smollett continues to unfold with the police still investigating what Smollett insists was a “hate crime.”<\/p>\n
Smollett tells the story of walking down the street in sub-zero temperatures and being attacked by two men wearing MAGA hats and screaming racial and homophobic slurs at him. Was this a hate crime?<\/p>\n
Maybe it was. And then, maybe he wasn’t attacked at all.<\/p>\n
The incident occurred in Chicago, a city torn by racial strife and massive distrust of the police. John Ziegler\u00a0of Mediaite<\/a>\u00a0writes of how the investigation is unfolding:<\/p>\n Among other things, the police have made it very clear they have not yet found any proof of an attack, despite having almost all of Smollett\u2019s movements on surveillance video. They have disclosed that Smollett would not give over his cell phone to verify his timeline of events. They even published photos of \u201cpersons of interest\u201d that they had to know were going to be universally mocked for being obviously irrelevant.<\/p>\n In my view, none of those important revelations would have been made public in the way that they were, unless there was extreme suspicion within the police force that Smollett\u2019s story was not fully accurate.<\/p>\n By extension, media figures would not be being told by their police sources, as I have been told is currently happening both routinely and with vigor, that the authorities are acting on the assumption that they will never find any evidence to fully substantiate Smollett\u2019s story. This isn\u2019t just happening via idle speculation either, the police are doing so with great specificity, even including an alternative theory for what really happened (current attempts to find the origin of the rope found around Smollett\u2019s neck long after the event was over are believed to be the most likely game-changer, if there ever is one in this case).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n In truth, the Chicago police are terrified of even hinting they doubt Smollett’s story. There is no major city in the U.S. where the cops are more distrusted by blacks than in Chicago. The police risk a riot if they let it be known they think Smollett is trying to hoax them.<\/p>\n The media — also massively distrusted by blacks in the city for supposedly always placing them in a bad light — is tiptoeing around the hoax story.<\/p>\n As for the Chicago media, a couple of local television reporters are apparently using Twitter as a confessional for information about the case that their stations currently fear to air.\u00a0\u00a0Rob Elgas<\/strong>\u00a0of the Chicago ABC affiliate, and\u00a0\u00a0Rafer Weigel<\/strong>\u00a0of the Fox station (which carries Smollett\u2019s show\u00a0\u00a0Empire<\/em>) have continually updated the developments, or lack thereof, in a way that paints a much different picture from the one that viewers would see on an actual newscast.<\/p>\n It is very obvious that if one major news outlet in Chicago had the guts to be the first to openly discredit Smollett\u2019s story, the others would soon follow the leader. But because the risk of being wrong in this situation (see Smollett\u2019s PC Force Field), there is just no incentive to take that dive until and unless the police finally make a definitive statement.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Will the police let the matter die rather than prosecute Smollett? Fox’s Weigel says no:<\/p>\n #ChicagoPolice<\/a> Supt Eddie Johnson says #JussieSmollett<\/a> is still being treated as the victim in this case but if the investigation does reveal he made a false report he will be held accountable.<\/p>\n — raferweigel (@RaferWeigel) February 5, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n‘Juno’ Star Ellen Page Blames Mike Pence’s Anti-LGBT Views for Alleged Attack on Jussie Smollett<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
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