UPDATE, 7:44 p.m. Eastern: ABC News is reporting that police conducted a follow-up interview with Smollett and that he informed them the alleged attackers did use the “this is MAGA country” phrase. Turns out, the Daily Beast stealth-edited their post to remove the excerpt mentioned in the original version of this post to remove a passage about having spoken to Chicago Police in which they stated they had no evidence of that phrase being used. Thus far, the portion about MAGA hats has not been proven true.

The original post is below.

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Empire star Jesse Smollett was brutally attacked early Tuesday morning in Chicago in what police have suggested could be deemed a hate crime due to Smollett being gay and the assailants allegedly hurling homophobic and racist slurs.

However, one such claim that has not yet been substantiated was the notion that the alleged perpetrators either wore Make America Great Again (MAGA) hats or shouted “this is MAGA country” to Smollett as he was beaten, doused in bleach, and had a noose tied around his neck. Despite that, the 1:00 p.m. Eastern edition of MSNBC Live mentioned it anyway.

Co-hosts Stephanie Ruhle appropriately called it a “horrible” story and “terrible attack” “to report.” National correspondent Miguel Almaguer agreed, noting the attack’s “disturbing” nature, but then provided the MAGA hat detail about the alleged perpetrators even though he wasn’t sure of its validity.

“Certainly, there are many indications of a hate crime here. They are looking for two suspects who were apparently wearing Make America Great Again hats, although that has not yet been officially confirmed. There's been no detail description on the suspects,” Almaguer stated.

Almaguer reiterated that Smollett “is in good and stable condition” but, unfortunately, he didn’t have a description at that hour to share with viewers.

He then added: “So, one thing investigators will likely look at is any surveillance video in the area. They have not released any leads on that so far, but clearly, multiple investigators from several different departments at Chicago PD are all working on this.”

To Ruhle’s credit, she made clear to viewers before moving on with the segment to NBC News legal analyst Danny Cevallos: “I’m just looking at our notes. I don't know that NBC has confirmed that they were specifically wearing those hats. I believe it's been reported. I don't believe that NBC's been able to confirm that detail.”

To also give an attaboy to CNN, they have not mentioned either claim about the suspects in their on-air segments.

TMZ originally promoted the latter claim, but The Daily Beast was able to speak with Chicago Police and were informed that law enforcement has yet to find evidence to substantiate it:

A Chicago Police spokesperson told The Daily Beast that the attackers’ genders are unknown, and that their faces and hands had been covered. TMZ reported that the attackers shouted “This is MAGA country,” but police told the Beast, “There is no report of that being said.”

Later that hour, AV Club noted that TMZ had updated their account of the Smollett attack, insisting that the two men donned ski masks instead of MAGA hats.

Either one of those claims could turn out to be true, but police haven’t been able to confirm that, so perhaps the press should choose their words carefully. But then again, that would require the media to change.

After both the BuzzFeed and Covington stories, one would think news outlets would adapt or at least exercise more caution. As National Review’s Charles C.W. Cooke wrote last week, it’s doubtful the press will ever learn that lesson.

To see the relevant transcript from January 29's MSNBC Live with Velshi & Ruhle, click “expand.”