Chicago

City of Chicago Releases 911 Calls From Jussie Smollett Incident

The calls were made by an unidentified man who said he worked for "an artist" he didn't want to name

The city of Chicago has released two 911 calls made after "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett claimed he was the victim of a racist, homophobic attack.

Recordings of the calls following the January 29 incident were obtained by The Associated Press and other outlets Wednesday evening. Both calls were made by an unidentified man who said he worked for "an artist" who he didn't want to name.

During the first call, the man said the person went to a Subway restaurant and "some guys ... they jumped him." The caller said the person was initially reluctant to make the report but that he would speak to police.

Documents once sealed in the Jussie Smollett case are now public, and NBC 5’s Ash-har Quraishi is combing through 400 pages of material to give the latest details in the case. 

"He was cool, and he didn't want me to call you guys, but I felt like he needed to make a report," the man said in the first call. "He's definitely going to make the report. I'm going to make him make the report." 

In the call, the unidentified man said that Smollett is "startled," and he was scared by the incident. 

"They put a noose around his neck," he said. "They didn't do anything with it, but it's around his neck. That's really (expletive)-ed up to me." 

The man expressed concern about a perceived delay in police response during the second call.

"My friend was jumped or something. I thought they would be here by now," he said. 

Smollett was later charged with lying to police. Prosecutors dropped the charges on March 26.

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