CHICAGO — Ever since Jussie Smollett, a star of the television series “Empire,” first claimed in January that he was the victim of a bizarre hate crime on a Chicago street, the case has taken one baffling twist after another, attracted wide attention on social media and inflamed passions on all sides. The police initially investigated the incident as a possible hate crime and made arrests, but later came to doubt Mr. Smollett’s account. He was accused of staging the incident, arrested and indicted, only to have prosecutors unexpectedly drop the charges on Tuesday.

Here are some key questions about where the affair stands now.

Are federal authorities investigating the matter now?

One aspect of the case is known to be in federal hands: a threatening letter mailed to Mr. Smollett in the weeks before the Jan. 29 incident that he reported as an attack.

Prosecutors have said the F.B.I., which has jurisdiction over crimes committed using the mail, was conducting a forensic analysis of the letter. It came in an envelope with “MAGA” written in the left corner, an apparent reference to President Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.” It also contained white powder; tests found it to be a painkilling drug. It is not clear whether the analysis has been completed.

A law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said on Thursday that the F.B.I. had previously opened a hate crime investigation while assisting local authorities with the case. It was unclear whether that investigation remained open or whether the F.B.I. had taken any additional steps.

On Thursday morning, Mr. Trump suggested on Twitter that there could be wider federal involvement: “FBI & DOJ to review the outrageous Jussie Smollett case in Chicago. It is an embarrassment to our Nation!”

The F.B.I. declined to comment about a possible investigation.

Why did Chicago’s top prosecutor, Kimberly Foxx, recuse herself from the Smollett case?

Ms. Foxx, who promised to be a reformer when she was elected state’s attorney for Cook County in 2016, took herself off the case in February, saying that she had had conversations about the incident with a relative of Mr. Smollett. She also exchanged emails with Tina Tchen, a prominent Chicago lawyer and former aide to Michelle Obama. Ms. Tchen has said she sought to put Ms. Foxx in touch with the Smollett family over the family’s concerns about how the incident was being portrayed in public.

At the urging of a Smollett relative, Ms. Foxx also contacted Eddie T. Johnson, the superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, and suggested that the F.B.I. take over the investigation.

What evidence indicated to the police that Mr. Smollett had staged the attack?

The police say Mr. Smollett hired two brothers to stage an assault on him, and gave them a check for $3,500, with the promise of another $500 later. The police have a copy of the check, surveillance video of the brothers’ movements before the attack, and phone records showing that they spoke with Mr. Smollett an hour before the incident, and then again an hour afterward.

In a document prepared for a bail hearing, prosecutors said they also had video of the brothers at the scene, text messages with Mr. Smollett, and the brothers’ testimony relating how Mr. Smollett had recruited them and how he had visited the scene of the incident with them the night before to prepare.

One unusual clue was an empty bottle of El Yucateco hot sauce, found at the scene more than a week after the incident. According to the police investigative report, detectives showed it to one of the brothers, who said “that it appeared to be the bottle he filled with bleach and poured on Smollett” during the incident.

What do the authorities say was Mr. Smollett’s motive for staging the incident?

The police say that Mr. Smollett was upset over his pay for his role in “Empire,” and was seeking publicity. His salary has not been made public; it has been estimated in media reports at $65,000 to $100,000 an episode.

“The stunt was orchestrated by Smollett because he was dissatisfied with his salary,” Mr. Johnson, the police superintendent, told reporters in February. “So he concocted a story about being attacked.”

What did Mr. Smollett say took place?

At roughly 2 a.m. on Jan. 29, Mr. Smollett told the police, he was attacked by two masked men on a sidewalk near his home in an affluent neighborhood of downtown Chicago, as he was returning from a walk to pick up food at a nearby Subway sandwich shop. He said the two men yelled homophobic and racial slurs at him, slipped a rope around his neck and poured a chemical substance on him. Mr. Smollett told the police that the men had yelled, “This is MAGA country.”

Mr. Smollett has maintained throughout the affair, and said again on Tuesday after the charges against him were dropped, that he had told the police the truth.

Julie Bosman is a national correspondent who covers the Midwest. Born and raised in Wisconsin and based in Chicago, she has written about politics, education, law enforcement and literature. @juliebosman • Facebook

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