UPDATED BELOW.

The Jussie Smollett story of how the actor bravely endured an attack in Chicago is coming to a close. And it’s not looking good for Jussie’s narrative, either. Indeed, the story has gotten more and more bizarre as time has gone on.

But Jussie stuck with his narrative of how MAGA supporters beat him on the mean streets of Chicago, yelling homophobic and racist slurs.

He took the official Smollett Story to Good Morning America on Thursday, where he spoke to a sympathetic Robin Roberts. He even shed a few tears:

Yes, brave Jussie says he can identify his two attackers.

Now, it looks like he’ll have a chance to do just that. And along with that, he’s got a whole lotta ‘splainin’ to do.

Chicago police have been holding two men whom they have characterized as “persons of interest” after they arrived at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport on Wednesday night. The men were returning from Nigeria.

Nigeria? Yep. Now those two “persons of interest” have been arrested on “probable cause they committed a crime.”

Here are the two suspects:

These Lakeview brothers, Abimbola "Abel" Osundairo and Olabinjo "Ola" Osundairo, will face more questions from police today as "potential persons of interest" in the @JussieSmollett case. But they've not yet been charged with any wrongdoing.

FULL UPDATE: https://t.co/PtcyO70APg pic.twitter.com/h4DkHhahUH

— CWBChicago (@CWBChicago) February 15, 2019

I don’t think they look like the MAGA type, do you?

So what crime did these two possibly commit?

According to a Chicago CBS reporter, investigators believe they conspired with Jussie Smollett to stage a hate crime attack.

TOP SOURCE: “We [investigators] believe the non-cooperating 2 witnesses are co-conspirators in a potentially staged attack” vs. Jussie Smollett. ⁦@cbschicago⁩ pic.twitter.com/sro7CDtJjP

— Brad Edwards (@tvbrad) February 15, 2019

Not only that, but it looks like the brothers worked as extras on Smollett’s TV series Empire, and fled to Nigeria just hours after the Smollett attack. One of the pair, Abel Osundairo, is also a bodybuilder who posted a posing routine on Instagram, accompanied by the Jussie Smollett song “Ha Ha I Love You.”

“Ha Ha” indeed.

Meanwhile, prominent Democrats and progressives have some ‘splainin’ to do, too. Like how they immediately assumed that the Smollett Story was gospel truth and went into full virtue signaling outrage mode.

Like DNC chair Tom Perez, who tweeted this:

“Let’s call it what it is: a vicious hate crime.”

Or Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) who called for a “hate crimes investigation into attack on actor Jussie Smollett.”

Credit: hipsxxhearts @ flickr. Attribution CC by 2.0.

And feminist activist Amy Suskind who demanded:

“Trump needs to address this attack and publicly condemn it!” 

Of course. Because everyone knows that this was all Trump’s fault, right?

Oh, and then there’s Kamala Harris, who wants to become president, and who called the “attack” a “modern day lynching.”

Cory “Spartacus” Booker wants to be president, too. Only he was more of a drama queen in his comments, as you might suspect:

“The vicious attack on actor Jussie Smollett was an attempted modern-day lynching. I’m glad he’s safe.”

“To those in Congress who don’t feel the urgency to pass our Anti-Lynching bill designated as a federal hate-crime — I urge you to pay attention.” 

Maybe Spartacus should’ve paid more attention to the actual timeline of the case instead of jumping to conclusions.

Finally, there’s Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, who never lets a story pass without preaching a sermon about social justice. Besides, it’s how she keeps her name in public view, which is what she’s all about anyway:

“There is no such thing as racially charged.”

“This attack was not possibly homophobic. It was a racist and homophobic attack.”

“If you don’t like what is happening to our country, then work to change it. It is no one’s job to water down or sugar-coat the rise of hate crimes.” 

Preach it, girl!

So it looks like the Smollett Story is about to topple like a house of cards. And it’ll be interesting to see what the Chicago Police will do if these Nigerian brothers start singing like I suspect they will. But what about all those progressives and Democrats howling for justice for Jussie? Especially since they emerged with egg all over their faces after they falsely called for the heads of the Covington boys?

You know how this works: they’ll just carry on like they always do, convinced that Republicans and those who support Trump are evil incarnate. They insult half of America and yet won’t admit when they’re wrong. Meanwhile, they’re making idiots of themselves, and inadvertently paving the way for four more years of Trump. Because, as the saying goes, “You want more Trump? This is how you get more Trump.”

UPDATE: On Friday evening, CPD released the Nigerian brothers because of “new evidence.”

#Breaking #CPD say no charges for 2 POI in #jussieSmollett. PD says it’s because of “new evidence” they learned in interrogations. The 2 men have been released after 48 hours in custody and were not charged. @Chicago_Police say they’re continuing to investigate.

— Rafer Weigel (@RaferWeigel) February 16, 2019

However, Jussie Smollett has retained a high profile defense attorney, Michael Monico, who is also representing Michael Cohen.

High-profile #Chicago defense attorney Michael Monico let it be known he was representing #JussieSmollett on @RoeConn radio show today. Monico also represents #MichaelCohen. He's considered one of the best defense lawyers in the country.

— Rafer Weigel (@RaferWeigel) February 16, 2019

As Alice said in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: “Curiouser and curiouser!”

UPDATE SATURDAY: The Nigerian brothers have sung. No wonder Jussie has lawyered up:

whether Smollett made up the story after police threatened to charge them with battery.  The brothers attorney said both brothers knew Smollett. There are unconfirmed reports that Smollett paid the two brothers to perform the alleged scheme. (2/2).

— Rafer Weigel (@RaferWeigel) February 16, 2019

However. . .

.@Chicago_Police say even after the Nigerian brothers release and despite “new evidence” from their interrogation #JussieSmollett is still being called a “victim” in this case. #Chicago #CPD

— Rafer Weigel (@RaferWeigel) February 16, 2019

Which is not a surprise, considering the bad blood that has existed between the CPD and the black community in Chicago, especially since the shooting of Laquan McDonald and the subsequent cover-up by Rahm and Company. On top of that, there are many who think the police officer who shot McDonald, Jason Van Dyke, got off too lightly with prison time.

So is CPD going slow with this investigation and making sure that all their tracks are covered? I think so.

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