Chicago police release footage of Jussie Smollett with noose around neck

Chicago police on Monday released nearly 70 hours of video footage related to the Jussie Smollett case, including bodycam footage of police officers speaking to the actor as he wore a noose around his neck soon after the alleged hoax hate-crime attack.

The video shows Chicago police officers speaking to Smollett inside his apartment after he reported being attacked by two racists who tied a noose around his neck on Jan. 29.

Smollett is still wearing the noose during the interview with officers inside his apartment, the video shows. “Do you want to take it off?” one of the cops asks during the exchange. “Yeah, I do. I just wanted you all to see it,” Smollett says back.

Smollett’s face is blurred in the video because investigators believed he was the victim of a hate crime at the time of the attack.  Smollett later claimed the assailants yelled racist and homophobic slurs and said “This is MAGA country!”

Smollett was eventually charged with making a false police report when investigators discovered he allegedly paid two men to carry out the hoax attack. The charges against him were later dropped by Chicago prosecutor Kim Foxx.

On Friday, Chicago Judge Michael Toomin appointed a special prosecutor who could bring new criminal charges against the actor.

In his ruling, Toomin wrote Smollett’s case was rife with “unprecedented irregularities” that warrant the appointment of independent counsel “to restore the public’s confidence in the integrity of our criminal justice system” after a series of questionable moves from Foxx’s office.