A Chicago Subway sandwich shop that was on the fringes of notoriety in one of America’s most famous hoaxes has now been hit with a real crime.
The store that sold Jussie Smollett a sandwich on Jan. 29, 2019, shortly before Smollett staged a fake hate crime, was robbed Thursday, according to CWB Chicago.
The incident at the Subway, located at 511 North McClurg Court, took place at about 9:30 p.m.
Police said two men flashed guns as they entered the store and demanded that the register be opened so they could take the cash.
Three men in the store were also robbed, police said.
Police said the men wore masks and were both armed. The men left on foot, police said.
The Subway that Jussie Smollett made famous was robbed by two gunmen last night. Three people inside the store were also robbed.https://t.co/LqQCMMk5S1
— CWBChicago (@CWBChicago) May 17, 2024
Former Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said the Subway sandwich was a key to determining the attack was a hoax, according to Fox News.
Was the Smollett case handled correctly?
“He comes back and gets attacked in a hate crime, supposed hate crime, and during all this scuffle – they poured bleach on him and all of this – when he got up and went into his apartment building he still had that Subway sandwich with him. That doesn’t happen.”
Johnson said victims usually drop their belongings “because they’re afraid.”
“This guy had the sandwich in his hand, never been touched. So that was a real tip and a clue to us that something was amiss,” he said.
Chicago Subway Sandwich Shop in Jussie Smollett Hate Hoax Case Robbed by Gunmen https://t.co/nJNj8UH1v9
— 𝓒𝓸𝓷𝓼𝓮𝓻𝓿𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓿𝓮𝓓𝓲𝓿𝓪™ (@1776Diva) May 18, 2024
Earlier this year, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to hear Smollett’s appeal of a ruling that upheld his conviction for lying about the crime he said took place, according to WLS-TV. No date was set.
Gil Soffer, a legal analyst for WLS, said Smollett is not likely to get what he wants.
“The Illinois Supreme Court process is really the end of the road for him and it’s not likely to give him much success, It’s pretty hard to get a hearing before the Supreme Court and even harder to win ultimately when you’re there,” he said.
In an Op-Ed on the website UnHerd, Kat Rosenfield wrote that Smollett has been his own worst enemy.
“For the past five years, the actor’s bandwidth has been largely consumed by the doomed project of sticking to his story, to insist on the ending he planned (and paid) for instead of the one he got. He continues to deny any wrongdoing and apparently intends to appeal his conviction all the way to the Supreme Court.,” Rosenfield wrote.
“These efforts may be understandable in a sunk-cost sort of way, but they are also having the opposite of their intended effect: the more he struggles to free himself from the mire of his infamy, the deeper he sinks, and the less sympathetic he becomes,” Rosenfield wrote, later adding, “Smollett diligently continues to spin his wild tale of victimhood, playing the role of the brazen showman… but to an empty house.”
