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The Chicago police have thrown out redacted phone records the actor submitted just two weeks after his alleged bias-motivated attack.
Actor Jussie Smollett's phone records that detail his calls during the night of his alleged hate-crime attack in Chicago have been rejected by local police as their investigation continues.
The records were delivered on Monday to Chicago police and were immediately deemed insufficient due to redactions made by the actor, which they say tamper the evidence.
"We are very appreciative of the victims cooperation however the records provided do not meet the burden for a criminal investigation as they were limited and heavily redacted," Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told The Advocate.
Smollett stated in interviews with local police immediately after the attack that he was speaking on the phone with his manager, who could corroborate many aspects of the incident. These records could help investigators looking to piece together the timeline of the January attack.
Smollett faced criticism for refusing to give police his phone, but a spokesperson for the actor says Smollett wants to protect high-profile contacts stored on the device.
"Jussie is the victim here, which has been stated by the Superintendent of Police," a spokesperson for the actor told The Advocate, referring to past statements made by the department.
The Empire star -- who came out on Ellen DeGeneres's talk show in 2015 -- reported to police last month that he was stopped around 2 a.m. on January 29 in downtown Chicago by two men wearing ski masks and yelling racial and homophobic slurs. The individuals then reportedly placed a noose around Smollett's neck, punched him, and then poured an unknown substance on his body.
"This is MAGA country," the men then yelled, according to interviews conducted by the Chicago police with the actor. Smollett's manager has told police he heard this language among racial and homophobic slurs.
A video of Smollett with a rope around his neck returning to his building after the reported incident has been recovered by the police but has yet to be released. Local police say they will not release this footage until the investigation in finished.
The FBI's separate investigation into hate mail addressed to Smollett with an image of a man being shot is also still on-going. The two agencies will not comment on whether these incidents are related.
Smollett's spokesperson tells The Advocate that the actor remains confident that the perpetrators will be found and he remains available to the police for any interviews or questions.
However, his team would not comment on if he will now hand over the phone to police as they continue to investigate.
