RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – A Brazilian police official told The Associated Press that American swimmer Ryan Lochte fabricated a story about being robbed at gunpoint in Rio de Janeiro. Authorities are still seeking answers about how they allegedly were robbed Sunday morning. The swimmers did not speak to reporters upon leaving the airport and getting shuttled away in a black auto waiting outside.
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According to a warrant issued by Judge Keyla Blac De Cnop in Rio, the athletes gave conflicting accounts of the alleged armed robbery.
By the time of her order, Lochte had already returned to the United States. USOC spokesperson Patrick Sandusky said the duo were released with the understanding they will cooperate with the police.
The USOC said Feigen was still in Brazil and should make a public statement on Thursday. “We stand ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance”. They appear to still have their belongs on them.
Lochte was ordered to remain in Brazil on Wednesday, only for authorities to discover he’d already hopped on a flight back to the United States.
Lochte himself addressed the situation later on Sunday in an interview with Billy Bush. “They arrived with their psychological and physical integrity unshaken”, the judge wrote.
Two representatives from the US consulate and an USOC official arrived at the airport shortly after the swimmers were stopped from leaving the country. Consulate spokesman David Fogelson told reporters he could not add any details. Reached by USA TODAY Sports on Sunday, Ileana Lochte, the swimmer’s mother, said the swimmers were not harmed.
Civil Police Chief Fernando Veloso said that the athletes should apologize to Rio. “But I’m safe. Everything’s fine”.
“I can’t talk right now”, Feigen said.
Rio has for years been trying to shed its image as a crime-prone city, and reports of the robbery at gunpoint, as well as incidents in which items were reportedly stolen from the Olympic village, have embarrassed many Brazilians. A perpetrator did not actually hold a gun to his head, though the weapon was pointed in his “general direction”, Lochte said. Well, after digging a little further in the case, the police found many inconsistencies with the swimmers’ accounts of the incident – and a judge made a decision to confiscate their passports and forbid them from leaving Brazil until the case is closed.
However, police have since raised doubts over the veracity of the report and the swimmers could face charges of filing a false claim.
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Brazilian police told ABC on Thursday that a one of the swimmers broke down the gas station’s bathroom door during an altercation with a security guard, they “offered 100 Brazilian real and $20” to pay for damages. Rio police say they were called in for questioning but never showed up.
