'Empire' Actor Jussie Smollett Accused Of Staging Attack In 'Publicity Stunt' Over Salary
"Smollett took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career," Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said in a news conference Thursday morning.
Watch CBS News
"Smollett took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career," Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said in a news conference Thursday morning.
The two brothers involved in the Jussie Smollett attack told police that Smollett was behind creating a racist letter that was sent to the set of his show "Empire," sources confirmed to CBS Chicago.
"Empire" actor Jussie Smollett, upset after a racist letter was allegedly sent to the show's studio didn't get a "bigger reaction," is suspected of paying two men to attack him a week later
Police said they have reached out to Smollett's attorney to request a follow-up interview, after detectives questioned two brothers last week. The two men went from persons of interest to potential suspects to being released without charges
Jussie Smollett paid two brothers to stage an attack against him, directed them to buy items used in the alleged assault and actually rehearsed it with them, sources told CBS Chicago.
Sources tell CBS Chicago at least one of the brothers bought the rope used in the incident at Smollett's request.
Since the Jan. 29 incident, Chicago police have not been able to identify any legitimate suspects in the case or find any surveillance video capturing the attack on film.
Volunteers dug deep into their pockets and picked up the tab for 60 hotel rooms for homeless men and women during the cold snap.
The Chicago Police Department received a report of a possible racially-charged assault and battery against an "Empire" cast member. Sources told CBS Chicago the cast member is Jussie Smollett.
A gunman opened fire Monday afternoon on the campus of Mercy Hospital, shooting a Chicago police officer and two other victims. Police say the gunman and one of the victims are dead.
A young girl hospitalized with a serious heart condition received the surprise of a lifetime on Monday.
Sofia Sanchez, an 11-year-old girl awaiting a heart transplant at Chicago's Lurie Children's Hospital, got a visit from her idol Drake after a video of her doing the #KiKiChallenge went viral.
CBS Chicago caught up with the nun as she returned back to Marian Catholic High School to find out more about her love of baseball.
A string of mass shootings Sunday morning helped contribute to the bloodiest weekend of the year in America's third largest city.
Commander Paul Bauer died Tuesday when he was shot six times while pursuing a suspect he was attempting to detain downtown Chicago.
It happened on January 18 on Chicago's North Side. Police identified the alleged arsonist as 28-year-old David Ferguson.
There are quite a few animals at Chicago Zoological Society's Brookfield Zoo who don't seem to be too bothered by the plunging temperatures the country has been experiencing lately.
The City of Chicago filed a lawsuit against U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions Monday, challenging rules that would make it impossible for sanctuary cities like Chicago to receive some federal grants.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Sunday that his city is getting ready to sue the Trump administration over threats to withhold funding from "sanctuary cities."
Chicago now gives at-risk inmates the overdose-reversing drug naloxone upon their release from jail, putting the antidote in as many hands as possible as part of a multifaceted approach to combatting the nation's opioid epidemic.
Two police officers were shot and wounded on Chicago's South Side Tuesday night.
United Airlines chief executive officer Oscar Munoz issued an apology Tuesday for the treatment of a passenger dragged off a plane, saying "No one should ever be mistreated this way."
President Barack Obama delivers his farewell speech at McCormick Place in Chicago on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017.
Prosecutors have filed hate crime and aggravated kidnapping charges against four people accused of beating and taunting a man during an attack streamed live on Facebook.
Four people were in police custody in Chicago Wednesday after an assault was streamed live on Facebook.
A truck carrying a boom crane tipped over in River Vale, New Jersey, causing the crane to slice into the house.
The plan to redesign a stretch of Park Avenue has changed a bit based on community feedback.
Presidents, prime ministers and diplomats from around the world will be in town, making it a very high-profile event.
New York City parents, lawmakers and advocates will push for a new law as some students with disabilities still don't have reliable bus service after one week into the school year.
A school bus crashed into a residential building in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Thursday morning.
Presidents, prime ministers and diplomats from around the world will be in town, making it a very high-profile event.
New York City parents, lawmakers and advocates will push for a new law as some students with disabilities still don't have reliable bus service after one week into the school year.
A school bus crashed into a residential building in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Thursday morning.
The Feast of San Gennaro is filling New York City's Little Italy with faith, music, games and many treats starting Thursday.
Police found a woman unconscious and unresponsive after responding to a call in Sheepshead Bay.
Fire departments were hard at work in Paterson, New Jersey, and Fairfield County, Connecticut, due to flash flooding on Sunday morning.
Rainy weather makes a return to the New York City area this weekend.
After a week filled with periods of storminess and high humidity, a calmer and drier weather pattern is settling in for the holiday weekend.
Severe storms returned to the Tri-State Area, making it a soggy Thursday morning.
The rain returns Tuesday with the possibility of severe storms and downpours that can cause flash flooding in the New York City area.
A truck carrying a boom crane tipped over in River Vale, New Jersey, causing the crane to slice into the house.
Family and the Bridgeton, N.J., community held a vigil Wednesday, marking seven years since Dulce Maria Alavez's disappearance.
A New Jersey Republican county chair has been charged with pointing a weapon at another driver in what state police call a road rage incident.
The missing person is a 64-year-old man from Southampton, Pennsylvania, who is set to be married in two months.
Thousands of gallons of diesel fuel spilled from an AI data center in Secaucus, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection said.
The typical age a person in the U.S. starts a master's program is 33, but one Long Island teenager is about to shatter that timeline.
Joe Petraro-Hyppolite has a 168 IQ and is set to graduate with his undergraduate degree in May. CBS News New York's John Dias has more on what else this young man has already accomplished.
The New York State Board of Regents has approved a plan to begin overhauling high school graduation requirements.
There are calls to widen Sunrise Highway, one of Long Island's most traveled thoroughfares, due to congestion in one 10-mile stretch in Suffolk County.
Also known as New York State Route 27, Sunrise Highway has become so congested in one 10-mile stretch in Suffolk County, officials and first responders say it needs another lane in both directions. CBS News New York's Carolyn Gusoff reports.
The plan to redesign a stretch of Park Avenue has changed a bit based on community feedback.
Seventeen new modular public bathrooms are being installed across New York City as part of a yearlong pilot program.
Lawmakers are targeting what are often called "e-motos," which are devices being sold as e-bikes and e-scooters but can go much faster than what's legal on city streets.
There are calls to widen Sunrise Highway, one of Long Island's most traveled thoroughfares, due to congestion in one 10-mile stretch in Suffolk County.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani unveiled Tuesday his 10-year street safety plan called Vision Zero Reimagined.
Affordable Care Act recipients in 30 states are set to receive the $500 checks starting in October. Here's why.
One person has died and a total of five people have been sickened by Legionnaires' disease in the Bronx.
As of late August, the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund has received 112,000 claims, awarding more than $18 billion.
A cosmetic treatment that promises breast enhancement without surgery is now at the center of a fight over who regulates human tissue in New York.
Twenty-five years after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the health threat hasn't ended for many survivors.
The Feast of San Gennaro is filling New York City's Little Italy with faith, music, games and many treats starting Thursday.
The iconic Peanuts character Snoopy is getting a new look for the 100th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.
Aaron Rowe, Beoga, Lukas Graham and Finneas all released statements Tuesday on Instagram saying they were withdrawing from Ed Sheeran's tour.
The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards celebrated the best in television and streaming from the past year on Monday. See the full list of winners and nominees.
Performer Macklemore is being dropped from Ed Sheeran's Loop tour after making on-stage statements that some found controversial.
Pete Alonso homered against the Mets, a solo shot in the first inning that sent the Orioles to a 7-1 victory Wednesday night.
Luke Keaschall went 3 for 5 and scored from second base on Victor Caratini's game-ending single in the 13th inning to send the Minnesota Twins past the New York Yankees 5-4.
Coby Mayo's inside-the-park homer in the 11th inning sent the Orioles to a 7-5 victory over the Mets on Tuesday night.
Max Fried earned his first victory since April 27, backed by home runs from Cody Bellinger and Spencer Jones that helped the New York Yankees keep pace in the AL East race with an 8-1 win over the Minnesota Twins.
The Yankees beat the Twins 8-3 Monday on a night they clinched their 61st postseason berth and ninth in 10 seasons.
The People's Theatre now has its first permanent home in more than 15 years, thanks to help from theater legends from the neighborhood, like Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Brooklyn Greenway Initiative's 1.8-acre native plant sanctuary marks 10 years at a site where historians believe hundreds of human remains still lie
At a Bay Ridge school, students who were born years after the attacks are learning about Sept. 11 through the stories of parents, teachers and first responders who lived through it.
Former Mets players from the 2001 season were at Ladder 25 on the Upper West Side on Tuesday.
Grammy and Emmy Award-winning musician Lizzo made a surprise visit to meet Brooklyn students and debut her new children's book.
People dressed in elaborate headgear and paraded up Fifth Avenue for New York City's Easter Sunday tradition.
The Halloween tradition strolled through Manhattan's East Village on Sunday, with furry friends dressed in colorful costumes.
A suspect was taken into custody after an attack on Pearl Street Mall in Boulder on June 1 in which there were 15 people and a dog who were victims. The suspect threw Molotov cocktails that burned some of the victims, who were part of a march for Israeli hostages.
The annual Easter Parade and Easter Bonnet Festival was held in Manhattan on April 20, 2025.
A look back at the esteemed personalities who've left us this year, who'd touched us with their innovation, creativity and humanity.
The ex-husband of the Massachusetts mother accused of killing her three children is giving his first public interview to CBS 60 Minutes.
The boom of the crane crashed through the roof of the home.
The City Council and Mayor Zohran Mamdani are battling over $10,000 one-time bonuses for paraprofessionals in New York City public schools.
Surveillance video shows the moment a school bus crashed through the front of a Brooklyn apartment building Thursday morning. CBS News New York's Elijah Westbrook reports.
Firefighters were on the scene of the crash in Crown Heights, where the driver was evaluated for minor injuries.