Is the legal noose tightening on the suspected hoaxer who accused Trump supporters of attacking on a cold Chicago street?

Chicago police are now saying they believe “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett may have staged the “attack” on him, where two assailants claimed the city was “MAGA country” and threw bleach on him, leaving a noose around his neck.

CBS’s Charlie De Mar tweeted two pictures this evening, reporting police “raided the home of two person of interest.”

“Both men are of Nigerian decent and have appeared as extras on the show.”

De Mar says police took bleach, shoes, electronics and more.

The evidence list details the full scope of what cops took, including:

  • Magazine
  • Laptop
  • Bleach
  • Nike shoes
  • Piece of paper/writing
  • Red hat
  • Safe
  • Wallet with stamps

De Mar says family members of the suspects say the home was “ransacked.”

“The men left for Nigeria the day of the attack,” De Mar says.

The seized magazine may be significant, given the alleged threat that was mailed to Smollett at the Fox studio.

Photos show the letter used letters clipped from a magazine or newspaper.

The Chicago Tribune reported:

A week before he says he was attacked by two men yelling slurs, “Empire” star Jussie Smollett reported receiving a small white envelope addressed to him in a thick red scrawl at the Fox production studios on the West Side.

Smollett told police he and the show’s executive producer used gloves to open the envelope. Inside was a sheet of white paper with a threat in cut-out letters: “You will die black fag.” There was white powder in the envelope, but it was later determined to be crushed acetaminophen, a pain reliever found in Tylenol, police said.

Witnesses told police a postal worker dropped off the letter. It was postmarked in southwest suburban Bedford Park on Jan. 18, four days earlier, and bore two American flag stamps. The letters MAGA were written, also in red ink, in the upper-left corner of the envelope.

Police also seized a wallet “with stamps.”