CHICAGO—Two brothers who told police that Jussie Smollett paid them $3,500 to help stage an attack on himself were linked to the actor through the “Empire” television series, and court documents filed Feb. 21 allege one of the men provided Smollett with designer drugs.
Smollett appeared in court for a bond hearing one day after prosecutors charged him with a felony for allegedly concocting a story about being attacked by two men who shouted racist and homophobic slurs, doused him with a chemical and draped a noose around his neck.
