The #TeamUSA swimmers who were robbed along with #RyanLochte in #Rio are wanted for questioning after their accounts of what happened didn’t seem to add up. The issue is so serious that two of the swimmers, #JackConger and #GunnarBentz, were removed from their flight back home by Brazilian authorities.
The two swimmers were with teammates Ryan Lochte and #JamesFeigen on the night of the alleged armed robbery. Lochte was able to make it back to the #UnitedStates before officials could seize his passport to ensure he was available for questioning. Feigen is still believed to be in #Brazil.
According to the swimmers, the robbery occurred after they left a party at the #French hospitality house. The four swimmers reported being robbed at gunpoint early Sunday in a taxi bound for the #OlympicVillage by individuals posing as police officers. Lochte reported that one of the men held a gun to his head.
According to #CNN, authorities issued a search and seizure warrant for the men’s passports, which if served, would have prevented them from leaving the country.
The judge questions the validity of the swimmers’ claims. Judge Keyla Blanc De Cnop notes inconsistencies in the athletes’ stories. Lochte said a single robber approached them and demanded all their money (400 real, or $124). Feigen, on the other hand, said they were approached by multiple robbers but only one was armed.
The judge also questions the athletes’ behavior upon their return to the #OlympicVillage, saying they appeared pretty calm in surveillance footage. “It seems the alleged victims found their physical and psychological integrity were unshaken, even fooling about with each other,” said the judge.
The judge also pointed out that the swimmers’ watches and cell phones hadn’t been taken.
Why would Ryan Lochte and Co. lie? This is pretty serious. If they weren’t robbed, I wonder what they were out doing.
