Chicago Police are questioning two extras who appeared on "Empire" in connection with the attack on actor Jussie Smollett, according to a new report, and the evidence against the men is growing.
TMZ reported on Thursday that Jussie is also speaking to authorities again.
According to multiple reports, police picked up the actors in question on Feb. 13 after they flew into Chicago.
A damning report from CBS Chicago Thursday night said the police raided the home of the two men and found five bottles of bleach, a red hat, two laptops and other items. After the attack, Jussie told police the men poured bleach on him and were shouting "MAGA" at him. The men are of Nigerian descent, the report said.
Neither man is being named publicly, but TMZ said both of them have appeared on "Empire," the show Jussie stars in.
The men are being labeled as "persons of interest," but not suspects as of now. However, TMZ notes that the men were identified after police used rideshare and taxicab records to track their locations the night of the alleged incident on Jan. 29.
Police would not discuss whether they believe the two men they picked up were the two in the grainy surveillance tape that was released days after the incident.
On Thursday, an interview with "Good Morning America" also aired in which Jussie recounted that fateful evening. The incident began after the men hurled insults at him, Jussie said. After Jussie approached him, one man punched him. Jussie said he fought back and they "tussled." The second attacker began kicking his back.
After the men ran away, he noticed a rope around his neck.
He said he's convinced the two men in the grainy surveillance video are the two who attacked him.
He also said he's "pissed off" that people doubt his story. As for why he refused to turn his phone over to police, a source of contention, he told Robin Roberts, "They wanted me to give my phone to the tech for three to four hours. I'm sorry but — I'm not gonna do that. Because I have private pictures and videos and numbers: my partner's number, my family's number, my castmate's number, my friends' numbers, my private emails, my private songs, my private voice memos."