A day after Abel and Ola Osundairo told press they wouldn’t testify during Jussie Smollett’s upcoming trial, the two have reportedly changed their mind.
The two brothers will now willingly cooperate, their attorney Gloria Schmidt Rodriguez told Fox News in an article published Thursday. The Osundairo brothers claimed Smollett paid them to attack him in a fake hate crime back in January of 2019.
After missing handgun was found, Abel and Ola Osundairo “stand ready to testify at trial” in Jussie Smollett case. https://t.co/E1fX3Yb243
— AP Entertainment (@APEntertainment) June 25, 2020
“Yesterday’s decision to voluntarily stop cooperating in the prosecution of Jussie Smollett has nothing to do with the veracity of the statements made to police and prosecutors by Abimnola (‘Abel’) and Olabinjo (‘Ola’) Osundairo,” attorney Rodriguez told the outlet. “The brothers have consistently stood by their statements and testimony and continue to tell the truth about their involvement.” (RELATED: REPORT: Osundairo Brothers Won’t Willingly Testify Against Jussie Smollett)
The brothers will now “recommence their cooperation in the Smollett case now that the handgun has been produced.”
Abel claimed the decision to stop willingly cooperating stemmed from treatment from the police. A “properly registered 9mm handgun” was never returned to the brothers after the Chicago Police raided the brothers’ home in 2019. The brothers claimed the police treated them like suspects despite being released without charges.
Smollett was handed a new six-count indictment in February for making four separate false reports to the Chicago Police Department after the alleged 2019 attack.
The new charges were brought against the actor by prosecutors per recommendation of special prosecutor Dan Webb.