Chicago police investigating the alleged attack on Empire star Jussie Smollett (pictured in hospital afterwards FaceTiming with Lee Daniels, Empire's creator)
President Donald Trump commented on the 'horrible' attack on 'Empire' actor Jussie Smollett, saying it 'doesn't get worse than that.'
The president was asked about the attack, which authorities are investigating as a possible hate crime, in the Oval Office on Thursday.
The president indicated he had been following the case.
'That I can tell you is horrible. I seen it last night. I can tell you it was horrible. It doesn't get worse than that and I mean it,' the president responded.
He was not asked directly about one key alleged detail of the incident.
Smollett, who allegedly was attacked on the way to his apartment after visiting Subway sandwich shop, says his attackers shouted ''this is MAGA country!' during the incident.
The actor came out as gay in 2015, and says he attackers also doused him in an 'unknown chemical substance.' He says his attackers tied a noose around his neck.
MAGA is Trump's campaign slogan, 'Make America Great Again.'
One lawmaker, Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of California, who is a family friend of the actor and a favorite target of Trump's, is blaming Trump for contributing to the attack on the 35-year old actor.
'It doesn't get worse than that and I mean it,' President Donald Trump said when asked about the attack on Smollett
'Why all of a sudden do we have people unable to study while black, unable to mow a lawn while black, unable to have picnic while black, and being attacked?' Waters said.
'It's coming from the president of the United States. He's dog whistling every day.'
Smollett waited 40 minutes before a friend called 911 to report that he had been attacked outside his apartment building and was still wearing the rope his assailants placed around his neck when cops arrived.
The 36-year-old gay and black Empire actor was attacked 'some time' around 2am on East North Lower Water Street in Chicago as he walked home from a Subway sandwich shop by two men who called him racial and homophobic slurs.
But DailyMail.com can reveal that police were not called until at least 2.35am when an unnamed 'associate' called 911 on Smollett's behalf.
When police arrived at the luxury apartment building where he stays while filming the Fox show, Smollett had the rope he says was tied in a 'noose' around his neck by his attackers but it was slack, according to police.
He then took himself to hospital to be treated for cuts on his face.
It is not clear if the person who called 911 was his manager, Brandon Z. Moore, who says he was on the phone to him when the attack happened and corroborated his claim that the attackers shouted 'this is MAGA country!'.
When Chicago PD detectives asked Smollett for his cell phone to verify that he and Moore had been on the phone, he refused to hand it over.
'I don't know if it was a privacy issue or what,' police spokesman Anthony Guglieme said on Thursday morning.
The more detailed timeline emerged hours after a neighbor told TMZ that she saw a 'redneck' man loitering outside their apartment building at 12.30am - 90 minutes before the attack - while she took her dogs out.
'Photos (pictured) of people of interest who were in area of the alleged assault & battery of Empire cast member,' police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi tweeted Wednesday evening
The men were not filmed attacking Smollett but were seen near where the attack took place at around the same time
DailyMail.com confirmed that the woman gave a statement to the police but detectives have not yet confirmed what she saw even though there are security cameras at the apartment complex.
Smollett was seen on surveillance cameras leaving the Subway and entering his building, purportedly after the attack, but police could not say on Thursday morning if he had the rope around his neck when he walked through the apartment doors.
Anthony Guglieme, a Chicago PD spokesman, said that while the area is 'saturated' with security cameras, there were several 'blind spots' that detectives were working to close in on
The unnamed neighbor told TMZ that she saw two men outside the building.
One had a piece of rope hanging out of his sweatshirt, she said.
'He looked out of place,' she said, describing him as a white man who was wearing a blue sweatshirt, a blue beanie and jeans that were too short and exposed 'thick grey hunting socks.'
Most notable was that the man, who she said was agitated and smoking a cigarette, was carrying a blue and white rope or 'clothesline' which was protruding out from his zip-up sweater.
There was another man about 300ft away, she said, nearer the entrance. The woman said she was 'creeped out' by the pair and went back inside after five minutes.
When she woke up at 4am, there was lots of security round the building, she said.
Once the concierge told her what had happened to 36-year-old Smollett, she relayed to him what she had seen.
The concierge implored her to phone the police, she said, which she did.
Her description came hours after Chicago Police Department released still images of two persons of interest.
The neighbor's version of events suggests that the two attackers were lying in wait for Smollett outside his apartment building.
Smollett and his manager Brandon Z. Moore both told police they were on the phone when the attack happened. Moore said he heard the attackers yell 'this is MAGA country'. It is not clear if he is the person who called 911 or if it was someone else but Smollett refused to hand over his phone when police asked for it to verify that they had been on the phone
Smollett had arrived back in Chicago late after having his flight from New York City delayed. The star lives in Chicago while filming the Fox series Empire.
He was in New York for a reading of the play Take Me Out, which tells the story of a gay baseball player.
Before he flew back to Chicago, he posted on Instagram about the delayed flight and about a show he is set to perform on Saturday night in Los Angeles.
The exact spot where he was attacked sits in between two luxury apartment buildings and two hotels but police say they have not recovered any surveillance footage of it.
A week before he was attacked, the star received a death threat letter at the network's studio but turned down security because he found it 'intrusive'.
The photos show two men walking on North New Street (depicted above) near East Illinois Street around 1.45am on Tuesday. Smollett told police that he was walking alone down East North Water Street in the 300-block around 2am when the two men approached him
The release of the surveillance photos comes just hours after officers said they were unable to find an footage that showed two men attacking the actor.
Officers said that detectives reviewed CCTV video of Smollett walking to his apartment building in downtown Chicago Tuesday morning, and 'for the most part' they can confirm the route he took when he says he was accosted by the assailants.
Authorities said a community alert with photos is being constructed and will be disseminated shortly.
Guglielmi said detectives investigating the allegations as a possible hate crime, have already looked at hundreds of hours of surveillance video from businesses and hotels in the heavily monitored area.
Officers expanded the search to include footage from public buses and buildings beyond the crime scene's immediate vicinity in the hopes of spotting the men who match Smollett's description of the suspects.
The attack took place here, in the street, outside the apartment building where Smollett stays while he is in Chicago filming. It is in between two luxury apartment buildings and two hotels but police say they have not yet recovered surveillance footage of it
Smollett is due to perform on Saturday in Los Angeles
'We haven't seen anybody, at this point, matching the description he gave, nobody looks menacing and we didn't find a container anywhere,' Guglielmi said earlier on Wednesday, referring to a container for the liquid that was thrown at the actor.
Smollett has not commented since the incident
Chicago has one of the most sophisticated and extensive video surveillance systems in the US, with thousands of CCTV cameras mounted on street poles, skyscrapers, buses and in train tunnels.
The letter threatening Smollett was sent to the Fox studio on January 22 and was laced with a powdery substance believed to be Tylenol.
The FBI is now trying to determine if there's a link between the homophobic letter and the Tuesday attack.
Following the accident Fox has added security for the rest of the Empire cast.
Much of the cast live in Chicago during filming.
Smollett missed shooting on the set on Tuesday as he recovered from the brutal attack.
He reportedly still intends to return to the set and Empire will resume as planned.
The production has halted filming in Chicago due to the severe cold weather and not because of what happened to Smollett.
20th Century Fox released a statement confirming the incident earlier in the week which read: 'We are deeply saddened and outraged to learn that a member of our family, Jussie Smollett, was viciously attacked last night.
'We send our love to Jussie, who is resilient and strong, and we will work with law enforcement to bring these perpetrators to justice.
'The entire studio, network and production stands united in the face of any despicable act of violence and hate — and especially against one of our own.'
The attacks are believed to be premeditated as Smollett received a cut out letter, that appears to be dated from January 18, stating that 'You will die black f*g'. Fox Studio received the letter on the 22nd and cops said it was laced with powder Tylenol
https://hienalouca.com/2019/01/31/trump-condemns-horrible-attack-on-empire-actor-jussie-smollett/
Main photo article
Chicago police investigating the alleged attack on Empire star Jussie Smollett (pictured in hospital afterwards FaceTiming with Lee Daniels, Empire’s creator)
President Donald Trump commented on the ‘horrible’ attack on ‘Empire’ actor Jussie Smollett, saying ...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
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