JUST IN: "'Empire' actor Jussie Smollett took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career," Chicago PD Superintendent Eddie Johnson says. https://t.co/5AiMcfe6iH pic.twitter.com/nOOhk0e8YD
— ABC News (@ABC) February 21, 2019
And to attack Trump.
Via ABC:
Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson blasted Jussie Smollett in an emotional press conference on Thursday in which he said that Smollett’s alleged staging of a hoax attack was a “publicity stunt…to promote his career.”
“Jussie Smollett tool advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career,” Johnson said. “Why would anyone especially an African-American man, use the symbolism of a noose to make false accusations?….How can an individual who’s been embraced by the city of Chicago turn around and slap everyone in the city in the face with these false claims?”
Johnson charged that Smollett, who has consistently denied any role in staging the alleged attack, orchestrated the attack because he was “dissatisfied with his salary.”
JUST IN: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Jussie Smollett arrest: "A single individual who put their perceived self-interest ahead of these shared principles will never trump Chicago's collective spirit." https://t.co/5AiMcfe6iH pic.twitter.com/z2lOrc7rV7
— ABC News (@ABC) February 21, 2019
Notice how he slips in “never trump.”