Report: Ryan Lochte and teammates ‘fabricated’ robbery story after gas station fight
Ryan Lochte and three other U.S. Olympic swimmers lied about being robbed at gunpoint in Brazil over the weekend, according to a report.
Citing Brazilian authorities and sources in Brazil, Matt Gutman of ABC News said Thursday that Lochte and his teammates “fabricated” the robbery story after fighting with a security guard at a gas station.
#BREAKING Brazil sources: #RyanLochte + 3 swimmers fabricated robbery story. Video shows swimmer "fighting" w/security at gas station @GMA
— Matt Gutman (@mattgutmanABC) August 18, 2016
#BREAKING Brazilian authorities tell @ABC video shows "US swimmer" "breaking down" gas station restroom door "fighting" w/ security guard
— Matt Gutman (@mattgutmanABC) August 18, 2016
News emerged Sunday that Lochte was held at gunpoint in Rio while on his way to a party he was invited to by a Brazilian swimmer. Lochte’s mother confirmed the story, while other officials denied it.
On Wednesday, a judge in Brazil ordered the passports of Lochte and Jimmy Feigen to be seized and told the swimmers to not leave the country. Lochte had already returned home to the U.S., but Feigen remained in Rio. Two other swimmers, Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger, were later pulled off an airplane and detained.
Police say the swimmers told them they were too intoxicated to remember many details about the incident, which allegedly involved the taxi they were riding in being pulled over by one or more armed men. A judge wanted to question the swimmers due to differences in their testimonies, and a law enforcement official felt like the athletes were not acting like four men who had just been robbed in this security footage.
