The two men who actor Jussie Smollett claimed attacked him as part of a hate crime broke their silence Monday to say they are not homophobic or racist.

“We are not racist. We are not homophobic, and we are not anti-Trump. We were born and raised in Chicago and are American citizens,” brothers Olabinjo Osundairo and Abimbola Osundairo said in a statement released by lawyer Gloria Schmidt.

The two men were arrested Wednesday as the suspects who allegedly attacked the gay, black man in January. They were released from the custody of Chicago police Friday after police said "new evidence" indicated they were not suspected of any wrongdoing.

Smollett had said at the time of the attack that two white men attacked him. Video footage showed the two assailants were not white and reports broke that the men were Nigerian citizens. Police said Saturday that the men were U.S. citizens of Nigerian descent. The two reportedly flew to Nigeria after the attack on Jan. 29.

Chicago police are now investigating whether Smollett orchestrated the incident and paid the two men to pretend to hurt him so that he would gain national attention at a time when he was being written off Fox's prime-time show "Empire."

Smollett had planned to blame President Trump for inciting the violence he experienced, according to several outlets.

The Osundairo brothers' lawyer said the two continue to cooperate with police. Smollett has refused to speak with police again.