
June 25, 2019 | 9:48pm
Web browsing history recovered by Chicago Police during the Jussie Smollett investigation show how those involved in the alleged attack Googled the actor’s name more than 50 times.
The documents, part of a trove released by Chicago Police on Monday, show 57 searches for “Jussie Smollett” and “Juss” in the days following the alleged hate-crime hoax.
The documents have the heading “Smollett search” but it wasn’t immediately clear whose search history it was.
The records include electronic data from Smollett and Ola and Abel Osundairo, the men allegedly paid $3,500 to stage the attack. Smollett’s lawyers say the history belongs to the Osundairo brothers.
The Chicago Police didn’t immediately return a call seeking to clarify who the searches belonged to.
Smollett told police he was the victim of a hate crime Jan. 29, an attack investigators later said was a hoax set up to “advance his career.”
The web history includes visits to articles from outlets about the case and an article about how a Post reporter found a bottle of hot sauce that reeked of bleach at the scene of the alleged crime.
Smollett, 37, faced felony charges for allegedly staging the hate crime by paying two brothers,
The charges were later unexpectedly dropped at an unannounced hearing by Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and her office.
The records released by Chicago Police Monday night included hours of footage related to the case, including a video of Smollett speaking to cops with the noose he said was used in the attack still around his neck.
Another video shows the Osundairo brothers in the back of a taxi with their hoods tied tightly around their faces the day of the alleged hoax.