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President Donald Trump is publicly denouncingthe assaultofEmpirestarJussie Smollett.
Speaking with reporters Thursday at an Oval Office meeting with manufacturing-industry leaders, Trump called the apparent hate crime “horrible.”
“That, I can tell you, is horrible. I’ve seen it, last night,” Trump, 72, said in response to a question from April Ryan, White House correspondent for the American Urban Radio Networks. “I think that’s horrible.”
“It doesn’t get worse, as far as I’m concerned,” he said before returning to his argument for building awallalong the U.S.-Mexico border.
Even before the incident,additional security had been hiredfor theEmpireset after Fox Studios’ Chicago offices allegedly received last week a threatening homophobic letter addressed to Smollett, who is gay.TMZ first reported the news.
The FBI is investigating that alleged letter, Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told PEOPLE.
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PEOPLE has reached out to the FBI for comment.
On Wednesday, police released photographs of two people they wish to question in relation to the incident. However, the images did not show the individuals’ faces.
The latest in the investigation comes after Guglielmi told PEOPLE he was optimistic video evidence will surface that will help them solve theapparent hate crime attack.
Describing the details of the allegations as “heinous,” Guglielmi said police had widened their search of surveillance cameras — both public and private — in the area surrounding where Smollett said he was attacked.
Guglielmi said the actor returned to his apartment afterward and called his manager, who quickly made his way to Smollett’s home. “The manager goes to the apartment, and they agree to call police. The manager called us at 2:40 a.m.,” Guglielmi added.
(According to multiple reports, both Smollett and his manager have refused to hand over their cell phones to authorities. “The victim and his manager reported that they were talking on their cell phones to each other, but CPD has been unable to independently verify this because they refused to turn over their cell phones,” Guglielmi toldRadar.)
Police patrols “responded to the residence to take a report and the victim was still wearing the rope around his neck when they arrived,” he said. “He explained to them why he had the rope around his neck, and the officers closed their body cams at his request, because they were in his private residence.”
A rep for Smollett has not responded to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.
source: people.com
