In the days since it was revealed that all charges “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett was facing had been dropped, thousands have weighed in on the matter across the nation, even ending up on Donald Trump’s unhinged Twitter timeline.
Early Thursday morning (March 28), the president took to Twitter to state that he will be having the FBI and the Justice Department review the investigation, even though those in Chicago have urgently vocalized that he should stay out of the situation.
“FBI & DOJ to review the outrageous Jussie Smollett case in Chicago,” he wrote. “It is an embarrassment to our Nation!”
While it is unclear what, if anything, federal authorities could do about the situation given that local prosecutors in Chicago chose to drop the case against him, Trump still took advantage of the opportunity to contribute to the dialogue, sending citizens into a frenzy on social media.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel also responded to the president’s comments, expressing his opinion that he should “sit this one out.”
“Jussie Smollett thinks that hate-filled environment that the president created, pinning one American against another because of their background, [Trump] thought he could take advantage of and create a hoax (through) a hate crime,” Emanuel said. “It’s a vicious toxic environment and cycle. I want to break it.”
Trump previously weighed in on the incident, reacting to how the actor claimed those who allegedly attacked him shouted, “This is MAGA country,” in reference to Trump’s campaign slogan.
“What about MAGA and the tens of millions of people you insulted with your racist and dangerous comments?” the president tweeted following Smollett’s arrest last month.
As previously reported, the FBI has been investigating whether the actor played a role in the sending of a threatening letter that was mailed to the actor at the studio in Chicago where “Empire” is filmed. Smollett received the letter a week prior to the alleged assault taking place.