Source: Scott Olson / Getty Join Our Text Club To Get The Latest Music, Entertainment, Contests And Breaking News On Your Phone. Text MAGIC to 23845 to join! Chicago Police are investigating a bomb threat at the daycare owned by the friend who bailed out R.Kelly. Officials tell TMZ, multiple calls came in Saturday for a bomb threat at the daycare Valencia P. Love either currently works at or used to work at. It was evacuated. Luckily, no one was hurt. You may remember, Love posted the $100,00 bond R. Kelly needed to get out jail in Chicago last week. She also posted a lengthy statement afterward, saying R. Kelly wasn’t a monster and she believes he’s innocent. [ione_media_gallery src=”https://magicbaltimore.com” id=”3563986″ overlay=”true”]
Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo have not received the same kind of national attention that as has been afforded to Jussie Smollett over the past month or so. However, if police allegations are accurate, these brothers from Nigeria also played a major role in duping the public just a few weeks ago. And they’re now here to say how very sorry they are for their actions. These siblings have confessed to helping Smollett stage an attack against himself on the streets of Chicago early on the morning of January 29. As you know doubt are aware of by now, the Empire actor told authorities after this incident that two white men assaulted him… tied a rope around his neck… doused him in bleach… and taunted him with racial and homophobic slurs. Smollett went on Good Morning America to share his story, insisting on numerous occasions that this hate crime really did take place. Alas, the Chicago Police Department does not agree. Partly based on interview with the Osundairos, who worked as extras on Empire and who also trained Smollett, they have determined that Smollett ha been lying. And they’ve charged him with falsifying a police report. This is a felony that could land Smollett behind bars for three years. It’s unknown at this time just what legal penalty Abimbola and Olabinjo could pay for pretending to be Smollett’s assailant, but their attorney spoke out on Friday morning and tried to garner some sympathy for her clients. This was her statement: “My clients have tremendous regret over their involvement in this situation, and they understand how it has impacted people across the nation, particularly minority communities and especially those who have been victims of hate crimes themselves.” According to the Chicago Police Department, Smollett paid the Osundairo brothers via check for a “phony attack” in order to take “advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career.” However, new questions have been raised about this payment and also about Smollett’s motives. On the latter front, some believe Smollett was seeking to become a LGBTQ martyr/hero by placing himself in the middle of an assault. On the former front, the check Smollett cut to the siblings has actually been made public. As you can see below, it’s made out to Abimbola and it’s in the amount of $3,500 — but it was written six days before the attack and it listed “personal training” as the basis for the payment. Smollett, of course, could have simply been covering his tracks via this personal training note. But the check in and of itself doesn’t appear to be evidence. Moreover, the texts Smollett sent to one of these brothers also backs up his claim that they were simply helping him get in shape for a music video. This is all a confusing, disturbing mess, that’s about all we can say for certain right now. Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said at a press conference last month that the assault “was staged, the brothers had on gloves… where they punched him a little, but as far as we can tell, the scratching and bruising that you saw on [Smollett’s] face was most likely self-inflicted.” Johnson went on to say Smollett owes everyone an apology for this farce. But the actor’s lawyers say that the police department is the one acting inappropriately here. “The presumption of innocence, a bedrock in the search for justice, was trampled upon at the expense of Mr. Smollett and notably, on the eve of a Mayoral election,” his team said after Johnson’s address to the media, adding a few days ago: “Mr. Smollett is a young man of impeccable character and integrity who fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence betrayed by a system that apparently wants to skip due process and proceed directly to sentencing.” View Slideshow: Jussie Smollett: This is How He Staged His Assault
Join Our Text Club To Get The Latest Music, Entertainment, Contests And Breaking News On Your Phone. Text BALTIMORE to 24042 to join! Source: VALERIE MACON / Getty UPDATE 8:00 PM: Jussie Smollett has now been charged with filing a false police report according to CBS Chicago . It’s a crime punishable up to 1.5 years in prison. He is expected in bond court tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. Felony criminal charges have been approved by @CookCountySAO against Jussie Smollett for Disorderly Conduct / Filing a False Police Report. Detectives will make contact with his legal team to negotiate a reasonable surrender for his arrest. pic.twitter.com/LvBSYE2kVj — Anthony Guglielmi (@AJGuglielmi) February 21, 2019 ORIGINAL 2/20/19 5:32 PM: Case Update: Jussie Smollett is now officially classified as a suspect in a criminal investigation by #ChicagoPolice for filing a false police report (Class 4 felony). Detectives are currently presenting evidence before a Cook County Grand Jury. pic.twitter.com/FhDcbBKsuU — Anthony Guglielmi (@AJGuglielmi) February 20, 2019 Chicago Police have now named Jussie Smollett as a suspect in his own alleged attack. He could be facing charges related to filing a false police report. Right now, detectives are presenting evidence before a grand jury. This comes after surveillance video showed the brothers who allegedly helped Smollett stage the attack buying items TMZ said were used during the incident. Press play below and watch as Ola and Abel Osundairo check out at the counter, piling up the items, which include ski masks, gloves, bandanas, sunglasses and red hats. Related: Did Jussie Smollett Stage His Own Attack? EXCLUSIVE: I tracked down surveillance of the Osundairo's buying supplies before “attack” Sources say Jussie Smollet told brothers what to buy. Countless phone calls placed for this. Visited more stores than I wish to admit. @cbschicago https://t.co/GT6h2g6Y9a pic.twitter.com/ULr3UTDe9Q — Charlie De Mar (@CharlieDeMar) February 20, 2019 Related: Jussie Smollett’s ‘Empire’ Screen Time Reduced In Wake Of Attack Investigation At one point Abel pulls his hoodie over his head, attempting to hide his face, but he’d already been seen clearly on the video. According to CBS Chicago , the brothers bought these items the day before the “attack” on Smollett. Meanwhile, Jussie Smollett has kept quiet. This, while his future on ‘Empire’ may be hanging in the balance . [ione_media_gallery src=”https://92q.com” id=”4042211″ overlay=”true”]
Source: VALERIE MACON / Getty Chicago PD Classify Jussie Smollett As Suspect In False Police Report Investigation The chief communications officer from the Chicago Police department has confirmed today Jussie Smollett is now being investigated as a criminal. Anthony Guglielmi wrote in a tweet: “Case Update: Jussie Smollett is now officially classified as a suspect in a criminal investigation by # ChicagoPolice for filing a false police report (Class 4 felony). Detectives are currently presenting evidence before a Cook County Grand Jury.” Case Update: Jussie Smollett is now officially classified as a suspect in a criminal investigation by #ChicagoPolice for filing a false police report (Class 4 felony). Detectives are currently presenting evidence before a Cook County Grand Jury. pic.twitter.com/FhDcbBKsuU — Anthony Guglielmi (@AJGuglielmi) February 20, 2019 Previously, Jussie filed a report saying he was the victim of a completely random racist and homophobic attack as he walked to a Subway in Chicago. As evidence unfolds, the details of the attack seem to make less and less sense to investigators. Today, before a Grand Jury, Chicagp Detectives presented evidence that the “attack” may have been staged. Two Nigerian brothers also thwart Jussie’s story during a police interview, claiming he paid them to attack him. Today, store video of the Nigerian brothers purchasing MAGA hats and ski masks has surfaced. The brothers reportedly told police Jussie asked them to stage the entire attack and this supports their story. CBS Chicago found the footage of them purchasing the item right before they allegedly attacked Jussie. (If the video below fails to play click here .) Details of this investigation are unfolding rapidly, but we will keep you updated.
Once again, Cardi B is going live on Instagram and saying what we're all thinking. This time, she feels hurt and betrayed over reports that Jussie Smollett staged his own assault . She also says that it's possible that the police are framing Jussie … which she can believe because she says that police once framed her . “I’m really disappointed in him,” Cardi says of Jussie Smollett on Instagram Live. “I feel like he f–ked up Black History Month, bro. Like, damn.” “I’m not gonna say, yet,” she notes. “Until he say it out his mouth that it was fake and the shit was staged,” “I don’t want to completely blame him,” Cardi adds. She explains that her reluctance is “because somebody I was talking to they said police in Chicago are racists.” The Chicago PD is infamous, even among other metropolitan police departmants. (It took 13 months for the police to release dash cam video that showed Laquan McDonald walking away from police, proving that his death was a murder) “So,” Cardi suggests. “They might probably try to frame him and make him look like he’s a liar.” “But if he’s not,” Cardi continues. “Then bro you f–ked up, for real.” “Like, why would you do that?” she asks. A staged hate crime, especially one so famous, will be used as fodder to cast doubt on future real hate crime reports. “You got Donald Trump immunity to f–king laugh,” Cardi accuses. Cardi laments: “You make motherf–kers look bad.” “You know why I want to give him the benefit of the doubt?” Cardi rhetorically asks her followers. “I remember about 2 years ago … my cousin got into an argument with this boy, this guy, like road rage,” she says. “And my cousin got out of the car,” she narrates. “And I got out of the car.” “And you know I'm always throwing s–t,” Cardi notes. “So I threw the guy a bottle of water.” “And the guy,” she says. “He doesn't really want to fight my cousin, he wants to really fight me.” “So, the police came, and they put me in like, a headlock,” Cardi accuses. “I got on Instagram,” she notes. “And said how the police got me in a headlock.” “And since I went on Instagram, I had 12 come into my home, calling my phone, leaving me letters saying that I have to speak to them,” she describes. Various police departments have been accused of using intimidation tactics, even agaist celebrities, in order to cover for wrongdoings. “And then, when I didn't speak to them, I went to my grandmother's house,” Cardi claims. Cardi says that police were “trying to harass my cousin and everybody to talk to them.” “And since I never gave a statement to the police,” she says. “They put out a statement saying that I did it to promote my album” “So,” Cardi explains. “I don't wanna call Jussie Smollett a complete liar.” “But they do claim that they have evidence from both the brothers [to whom they spoke],” she notes. “I don't know,” Cardi admits. “I want to see what else.” Don't we all. “Because if he did that … he really f–ked up, bro,” Cardi says. “This February, you have so many people standing for you.” “I mean, why would you do that, bro?” she asks. Maybe the weirdest thing about 2019 is how deeply relatable Cardi B's viral rants, whether they're about Jussie or politics, have been. Like Cardi, we are incredibly disappointed at reports that Jussie staged his own attack. As she says, this could be used against the black acommunity and the LGBTQ+ community, and is political fodder for Trump. That said, like Cardi, we have heard troubling things about the Chicago Police Department. We would all like to have a clearer picture of the evidence before rendering our judgment.
Source: Chicago Tribune / Getty 10 More Released In “Mass Exoneration” Due To Crooked Chicago Cop Former Chicago police officer Sgt. Ronald Watts was such a dirty piece of s#!t that a Cook County judge along with State’s Attorney Kim Foxx have freed yet another 10 men from imprisonment behind false arrests. According to the Chicago-Sun Times , those 10 newly released men bring the total number of freed inmates to 63…SIXTY-THREE! Says Sean Starr of the Exoneration Project at the University of Chicago Law School: “When the system fails one of us, it fails every single one of us,” Starr said at a news conference after a brief court hearing before Chief Criminal Court Judge LeRoy K. Martin Jr. “Their stories are just the latest examples of a calculated, feigned ignorance on behalf of the Chicago Police Department of the victimization of black and brown, lower-income communities in Chicago. As citizens of the city, we need to demand more, we need to demand accountability.” In 2012 Watts and partner Kallatt Mohammed were caught and charged with stealing $5,000 from a federal informant who was recording the entire shakedown. That sting was set up because Watts and co. had been accused of targeting minorities living in the Ida B. Well housing projects for fugazi drugs busts and bogus arrests. How did these phony-a$$ arrests affect the people who were imprisoned and their loved ones, you ask? Well, allow us to tell you: Derrick Lewis, who twice was sent to prison after Watts’ officers planted drugs on him, spent a total of more than seven years in prison. The convictions made his then-fiancée question his character, and she left him for another man while he was locked up. Though both his arrests took place more than a decade ago, Lewis said he still suffers because of his time behind bars. “We lost things that you can never get back,” said Lewis, who protested that he was innocent from the moment he was arrested. “We have a right to feel how we feel, now that it’s coming out that we were actually telling the truth.” It’s an evil world we live in. SMFH.
T allahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum is prepared to return fire if his GOP rival for Florida governor Ron DeSantis wants to “go there” during their debate on Sunday night in Tampa, which CNN will air at 8 p.m. SEE ALSO: Andrew Gillum’s Support Extends Well Beyond The Black Community, Poll Shows “We waited 20 months or so for this moment when we’d get to compete in a contest of ideas about where we’re going to take the state of Florida,” said Gillum, who could become Florida’s first African-American governor. “Hopefully, we’ll be in for a good substantive conversation. I’ll do my best to keep it substantive. But I’ve warned you, if Mr. DeSantis wants to take it there, we’ll go there.” The CNN live stream will be available on CNN.com and on mobile devices through the network’s apps for iOS and Android. It can also be viewed on CNNgo . We just finished our walk through before the @CNN #FLGovDebate with @jaketapper . RT if you’ll be watching tonight at 8 PM ET. And if you’re ready to #BringItHome . pic.twitter.com/7Ged5uQUsT — Andrew Gillum (@AndrewGillum) October 21, 2018 From the opening bell in this contest, DeSantis showed his racist attitude toward Gillum. He warned Florida voters, less than 24-hours after winning the GOP nomination in August, not to “ monkey this up ” by electing Gillum. A closer look at his background revealed that DeSantis has a long racist history . Gillum wants to debate the merits of his progressive agenda for the state, which includes his proposals to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour, increase starting teacher pay to $50,000, expand Medicaid and ending the state’s infamous “stand your ground” law. DeSantis, if he decides to debate the issues, is expected to counter that Gillum would be fiscally irresponsible, weak on crime, and too open to immigration as governor—basically touting Trump’s “make American great again” agenda. Expect DeSantis also to accuse Gillum of corruption. Federal investigators are looking into whether businessmen were able to influence Tallahassee development projects. Gillum has said the FBI told him he’s not the focus of its investigation. However, the mayor reportedly took expensive trips that his political enemies believe were paid for by lobbyists. Gillum has reportedly presented receipts for those trips, and he’s cooperating fully with the investigation. Meanwhile, Trump has been lobbed attacks at Gillum on DeSantis’ behalf. Ron @RonDeSantisFL DeSantis is working hard. A great Congressman and top student at Harvard & Yale, Ron will be a record setting governor for Florida. Rick Scott gave him tremendous foundations to further build on. His opponent runs one of the worst & most corrupt cities in USA! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 20, 2018 But Gillum responded to the president and DeSantis in a dignified post. . @RonDeSantisFL is relying on @realDonaldTrump to help him win this race, but he doesn’t have what I have — and that’s people like you who have my back in this race. Early voting starts on Monday, so let’s bring it home > > https://t.co/3T3VkXm6Ir pic.twitter.com/uyOhj3319T — Andrew Gillum (@AndrewGillum) October 20, 2018 SEE ALSO: Amber Guyger ‘Bragged About Being Violent’ On Social Media, According Botham Jean Family Attorney Chicago Police Suspect Foul Play In Disappearance of Kierra Coles But Has Poor Record Of Solving Homicides [ione_media_gallery src=”https://newsone.com” id=”3831747″ overlay=”true”]
Antonio Perez-Pool/Getty Images Officer Jason Van Dyke Guilty In Laquan McDonald Shooting Disgraced Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke has been found guilty in shooting of Laquan McDonald. A jury found Jason Van Dyke GUILTY today, October 5, of second-degree murder and GUILTY on all 16 counts of aggravated battery with a weapon, 1 count for each shot. He was found not guilty however of police misconduct. Judge Gaughan ordered Van Dyke taken into custody after his conviction for second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery. Van Dyke was immediately escorted out of the courtroom by the sheriff’s deputies. The Chicago Police department has been on edge ahead of the verdict and promised to “safeguard neighborhoods.” This afternoon and evening, thousands of #ChicagoPolice officers are at the ready to safeguard neighborhoods and defend the rights of peaceful demonstrations. As always any and all criminal activity that jeopardizes the safety of the people of Chicago will not be tolerated. pic.twitter.com/dkMMFKJrfx — Anthony Guglielmi (@AJGuglielmi) October 5, 2018 In October 2014 Van Dyke shot 17-year-old Laquan 16 times. He continued to shoot at McDonald for 12.5 seconds after he was already on the ground. He also told officials that he shot McDonald after he raised a knife in a menacing manner. Dashcam footage showed that that was untrue. A moment of elation outside City Hall as the Jason Van Dyke verdict is announced pic.twitter.com/sEtheeXbrx — Sam Charles (@samjcharles) October 5, 2018 Are you surprised that Van Dyke was convicted??? Mind you, this is the first conviction of a Chicago police officer in 50 years.
Source: Pool / Getty According to CNN , a Cook County jury has reportedly found Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke guilty of second-degree murder in the 2014 fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald. Van Dyke faced two counts of first-degree murder, 16 counts of aggravated battery and one count of official misconduct. Jurors just started deliberating on Thursday afternoon. and Van Dyke took the stand in his own defense on Tuesday. The encounter unfolded when officers came upon McDonald, who had a knife, and called for an officer with a Taser to respond to the scene. Before that officer could arrive, Van Dyke opened fire and shot McDonald. Dashcam footage of the shooting showed McDonald walking away from the officers when Van Dyke shot him and continue to shoot, even once he was already on the ground. CNN reports that video of the shooting led protests, a Justice Department civil rights investigation, criticism of the city’s mayor and eventually the ouster of the police superintendent. SOURCE: CNN
Stock Image by Getty Snow Tickets In South Chicago Hoods Are Staggering In Comparison To Wealthier Areas Data says the Chicago Police are issuing disproportionate amounts of snow tickets in the Black neighborhood of Englewood where a fist full of complaints to 311 are usual made about snowy sidewalks. In Northern, wealthier neighborhoods in city, where hundreds more complaints are being made, they are seeing fewer tickets. How is that even so?? According to WBEZ Chicago PD is abusing something called the “2 inch rule” in neighborhoods like Englewood. This rule says that if it snows over 2 inches, you can’t stay parked on a main street. But, according to a Chicago Police Department directive , cops aren’t supposed to issue “2-inch rule” tickets unless city officials declare weather severe enough for “phase two” of the official snow plan to kick in. These cops are just giving tickets without official word of SEVERE weather and poor folks are eating it. Other findings show that these poorer ‘hoods get more tikets for failure to shovel sidewalks. The CPD have yet to comment of the unequivocal amounts of snow tickets being issued around the city.
