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Jussie Smollett reportedly attacked in hate crime by men shouting “This is MAGA country”

The actor was reportedly choked with a rope, punched, and doused in a chemical during a stay in Chicago.

January 29, 2019

Actor Jussie Smollett was the victim of a hate crime early Tuesday morning in Chicago, according to reports in TMZ and Entertainment Tonight.

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Smollett, known for his role as Jamal Lyon on FOX's Empire, was reportedly walking in the street at 2 a.m. when two white individuals in ski masks began shouting racist and homophobic epithets at him. TMZ reports that Smollett was beaten in the face, choked by a rope, and doused in bleach as the attackers shouted "This is MAGA country."

The men fled the scene, and Smollett was taken to Northwestern Memorial with a fractured rib. He was reportedly discharged later Tuesday morning.

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Chicago Police Department spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi issued the following statement on the attack to the Huffington Post: