Two Men Arrested in Jussie Smollett Case

Chicago Police confirmed to ET on Friday that the two men who have been questioned by police since Wednesday have now been arrested.

Two arrests have been made in regard to the Jussie Smollett attack.

Chicago Police confirmed to ET on Friday that the two men who have been questioned by police since earlier this week were arrested Wednesday night.

A spokesperson for Chicago Police confirmed to ET that it's the same two individuals who were captured on surveillance video around the same time as the attack on the Empire star occurred in the early morning hours of Jan. 29.

"Interrogations will resume today with the two individuals and their attorney. While we haven't found any video documenting the alleged attack, there is no evidence to say that this is a hoax. The alleged victim [Smollett] is being cooperative at this time and continues to be treated as a victim, not a suspect," Anthony Guglielmi, Chief Communications Officer for Chicago Police, told ET earlier on Friday. "For clarification, the two individuals interviewed are classified as potential suspects. Detectives have probable cause that they may have been involved in an alleged crime and we are working to corroborate the allegations and investigative timeline as our investigation continues."

Police have yet to release the names of these men or any information on why they were arrested. Stay tuned to ETonline as the story develops...

As previously reported, Smollett told police that he was approached by two men as he was walking around Chicago in the early hours of Jan. 29 who yelled racial and homophobic slurs at him, and at one point wrapped a rope around his neck and poured an unknown chemical substance -- now believed to be bleach -- on him.

On Thursday, police questioned Smollett again and raided the home of the two aforementioned men. According to reporter Charlie De Mar, who took to Twitter to share the report, the two men were "of Nigerian decent [sic] and appeared as extras on the show [with Smollett]. Police took bleach, shoes, electronics and more."

Fox has no comment regarding the arrest of the two men associated with the attack on Smollett. Additionally, Fox cannot confirm the two men were extras on Empire.

Rumors began circulating earlier this week, claiming that Smollett orchestrated his own attack in response to allegedly being written off Empire. However, the network and studio released a statement to ET, denying Smollett's character was being dropped from the show.

“The idea that Jussie Smollett has been, or would be, written off of Empire is patently ridiculous," the joint statement read. "He remains a core player on this very successful series and we continue to stand behind him.”

This all comes after Smollett made his first television appearance since the attack, appearing on Good Morning America to recount the incident.

"I heard as I was crossing the intersection, I heard, ‘Empire!’ I don’t answer to Empire,” he recalled. "My name ain’t Empire. And I didn’t answer. I kept walking and then I heard ‘f****t Empire n****r’ so I turned around and said, ‘The f**k did you just say to me?’” 

"It was so fast,” Smollett explained of his delayed reaction to the rope. “It felt like minutes, but it probably was, like, 30 seconds, honestly. I can’t tell you, honestly. I noticed the rope and I started screaming. I said, ‘There’s a f**king rope around my neck.’"

Hear more on the ongoing investigation in the video below.

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