“It was investigated as arson with the potential, initially, of it being a hate crime,” Hitt said. JUSSIE SMOLLETT'S ALLEGED HATE CRIME HOAX SHEDS LIGHT ON SIMILAR PHONY ACCUSATIONSJoly’s attorney, Andrew Abood, told Fox News that throughout the investigation and recent court proceedings, Joly never claimed the fire was a hate crime. In [the Smollett] case, two people were paid by the actor. Our client never said it was a hate crime,” Abood said when reached over the phone on Tuesday. Joly told police he returned to the home and went inside for a minute or two before leaving again.

Source: Fox News February 27, 2019 14:37 UTC