UPDATED: Jussie Smollett Case Going to Grand Jury Early Next Week

UPDATE: TMZ reports that the Jussie Smollett case will go in front of a grand jury next week. According to sources close to the investigation, the brothers who were arrested are being kept under police watch to ensure that no one — particularly Smollett — makes contact to them.

The outlet also has updates on several aspects of the case, noting that when the brothers’ home was raided they found magazines with pages torn out of them. Police are now trying to figure out if the magazines are the source of the threatening letter sent to Smollett before the attack. While they believe the brothers bought the rope that was around Smollett’s neck, there is no surveillance video because the hardware store erases its tape after a week.

Smollett was asked if he would sign complaints against the men who attacked him and he said yes early on, but according to the site’s sources when he found out the brothers were the ones arrested he said he knew them and felt bad, so didn’t want to sign the complaints.

Police tracked the brothers down by their movements, noting they had left in either a cab or an Uber and tracked them to the point they left the vehicle and got into another one. Police reportedly didn’t believe Smollett’s story when he took them to the point of the attack and pointed to what is called an obscure camera, saying he was happy the attack was on video. However, the camera was pointing the wrong way so it wasn’t recorded. The police thought it strange that he knew the location of the camera.

There was no video of a “rehearsal” of the attack, which some reports said took place, and police didn’t believe the attackers made their reported “MAGA country” comment because “not a single Trump supporter watches Empire.”

Smollett has denied the attack was staged.

ORIGINAL: A new report broke over the weekend in which sources claim Jussie Smollett is suspected of orchestrating the attack on himself. CNN reports that two police sources told the outlet that Smollett may have paid the two men who attacked him late last month.

According to the site, the two men who were arrested on Wednesday — Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo — were released without charges on Friday due to “new evidence” cited by Chicago police. The two men are now cooperating with law enforcement and, according to the sources, there are records which show the brothers bought the rope that was around Smollett’s neck at a Chicago hardware store.

TMZ reports that according to the Chicago PD, Smollett is not officially a suspect. The department said in a statement, “We have some information that needs to be corroborated and verified with the Empire cast member before we can answer this question. After new developments, we’ve reached out to his attorney and requested additional time to interview him.” TMZ reports that at least one of the two brothers arrested — who have appeared on Empire as extras — has turned over his phone to police and there is a call between him and Smollett in the vicinity of the attack that took place before it happened.

Smollett’s lawyers issued a statement to CNN which read, “As a victim of a hate crime who has cooperated with the police investigation, Jussie Smollett is angered and devastated by recent reports that the perpetrators are individuals he is familiar with. He has now been further victimized by claims attributed to these alleged perpetrators that Jussie played a role in his own attack. Nothing is further from the truth and anyone claiming otherwise is lying…At the present time, Jussie and his attorneys have no inclination to respond to ‘unnamed’ sources inside of the investigation, but will continue discussions through official channels.”

A rumor had been going around that Smollett was being written off of Empire, but 20th Century Fox TV shot that down in a statement which read, “The idea that Jussie Smollett has been, or would be, written off of Empire is patently ridiculous. He remains a core player on this very successful series and we continue to stand behind him.”