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CHICAGO — State's Attorney Kim Foxx recused herself Tuesday from the investigation surrounding "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett's alleged attack.
A spokesperson for Foxx said the acting state's attorney for the investigation will be First Assistant State's Attorney Joseph Magats. Tandra Simonton, Foxx's chief communications officer, issued the following statement:
Earlier Tuesday, Chicago police said a tip from someone who said they may have seen Smollett and two men who allegedly attacked him together the night of the incident was unfounded, according to WGN.
Chicago police were investigating a tip that on the night Smollett reported being attacked by two masked men, he was in an elevator of his apartment building with the two brothers who later arrested and released from custody in the probe, a department spokesman told The Associated Press Tuesday.
Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the person who lives in the building or was visiting someone there reported seeing the three together the night in question last month. That tip was unfounded, police said.
Smollett said two masked men hurled racial and homophobic slurs at him, beat him and looped a rope around his neck.
TMZ reports the two brothers, who were once suspects, admit to rehearsing the altercation between them and Smollett. TMZ also reports the case could be headed to a grand jury as early as Tuesday, for an indictment against the actor for filing a fake police report.
Chicago police told WGN, they expect to meet again with Smollett and his attorneys sometime Tuesday or Wednesday.
Smollett says he was attacked in late January near his Streeterville apartment by two men. He said he was beaten, a noose thrown around his neck and his attackers used homophobic and racial slurs.
Last week, the two Chicago brothers, held as suspects, were interrogated and released. One of those brothers being a personal trainer to Smollett.
Smollett’s attorneys released the following statement over the weekend:
TMZ also reported that Smollett actually took police to the scene where the attack allegedly happened, and pointed to a camera that may have captured the beating, but that camera was facing the wrong direction.