Chicago police identify 'persons of interest' and it's a problem for Jussie Smollett's claims

"Empire" star Jussie Smollett said he was certain that the two "persons of interest" the Chicago police were seeking were his attackers, but the police have just dropped a revelation that casts doubt on that claim.

According to Chicago police, the two "persons of interest" on a grainy and blurry surveillance video from the night of the attack have been found and they are being interviewed in the investigation.

One is an "extra" actor from the "Empire" show, and the other is his friend.

According to a report from WGN-Chicago, the two persons being interviewed by Chicago police are African-American.

Rafer Wiegel of Fox 32 reported that police said the pair were picked up at O'Hare airport on Wednesday and that they were the persons in the grainy surveillance footage.

He also added that the police are not calling them suspects yet.

"These individuals are not yet suspects but were in area of concern and are being questioned," the police said. "Investigation continues."

The two persons of interest and Smollett are being interviewed by the police after the new development.

Smollett, who is a frequent guest on the progressive cable news network MSNBC, claimed that he was assaulted by two men who were yelling racist and homophobic taunts at him. In a second interview with police he said that they yelled, "this is MAGA country!" at him, referring to the president's campaign motto, "Make America Great Again."

Some have cast doubt on his claims while noting some inconsistencies in his story.

Smollett angrily denounced those expressing skepticism in his story during an interview with ABC News Wednesday.

Here's the latest in the Smollett assault case:

Jussie Smollett emotionally tells 'GMA' he wants justicewww.youtube.com

[Ed. Note: This article has been updated to reflect that Smollett did not identify his attackers as white, as some reports originally indicated. We regret the error.]