The story of the American Olympic swimmers’ mugging in Rio just keeps getting more and more bizarre. Yesterday, Rio police announced that they could find very little evidence to support Ryan Lochte and three swimmers’ stories that they had been mugged at gunpoint in Rio, outside of the Olympic village. And because the police could find little evidence, they seemed to assume that Lochte and the other swimmers were making everything up… because…?? A Brazilian judge ordered police to confiscate Ryan Lochte and James Feigen’s passports so that they could be re-interviewed after there were “inconsistencies” in their stories. The inconsistencies being claimed? Lochte apparently told police that they were only robbed by one person, while Feigen said there were multiple muggers. The thing about that is… Lochte told NBC that there were multiple muggers, right? Right. He said “these guys” and “they.”
In any case, US Olympic officials got Lochte on a plane just at the right time, because Lochte was no longer in Brazil when the police came for his passport. Lochte has already been Snapchatting and Instagramming his return to the US. So the Brazilian police came for two of the other swimmers mugged in the robbery, Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger. Bentz and Conger were yanked off a plane!
Two U.S. swimmers were pulled from their flight out of Rio and detained for police questioning, in connection with a controversial claim that they and teammates James Feigen and Ryan Lochte were robbed at gunpoint during the Olympic Games, PEOPLE has confirmed. Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger were detained, but later released, after boarding their Wednesday night flight. According to Yahoo Sports, they had cleared customs before being detained.
Patrick Sandusky, United States Olympic Committee spokesperson said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE: “Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz were detained Wednesday night shortly before their flight was scheduled to depart from Rio. They were released by local authorities with the understanding that they would continue their discussions about the incident on Thursday.”
The statement added that: “James Feigen is also communicating with local authorities and intends to make further statements regarding the incident on Thursday as well. We will continue to provide updated information as it is appropriate.”
According to local reports, Bentz and Conger were wanted for questioning after police said they suspect the robbery report could be false – an allegation that pits the reputation of Brazil, which has been scrutinized for its Olympic preparations, against the reputations of Lochte and his teammates. (None have been charged with a crime.)
Bentz and Conger were transported to a nearby police station after being detained, but it was not immediately clear if they had representation. The State Department told NBC News in a statement that they were aware of the situation and stood “ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance.”
A Rio police source told PEOPLE: “We just want to find out what happened, and then they will be able to take an airplane home. They are being questioned but are not under arrest.”
“I don’t know that they knew how serious this was, and that they were about to start an international incident,” a member of Team U.S.A. tells PEOPLE. “The feeling was that this was Ryan’s issue, because he was the one who had talked to police the most, but this is a big deal for all of them. Right now, we don’t know what’s going on, but this is serious. They’re in Brazilian custody right now, and that’s something that we have no control over.”
I’ve seen a lot of people question every single detail about Lochte and the other swimmers’ stories, but from what I understand, all of the swimmers were pretty drunk that night. Which isn’t a crime? They were literally hurting no one – their part of the Olympics was over, and they were partying with friends and they got wasted and they didn’t drive drunk, they took a taxi. And that taxi full of drunk swimmers got robbed, and sure, maybe every little detail of their combined stories doesn’t 100% line up, but again, they were probably pretty drunk. Is it just me or are the Brazilian authorities acting absolutely insane here? They’re yanking Olympic athletes off of planes, holding athletes at police stations without legal or consulate representation and publicly raising the specter of arresting and charging the victims of an alleged armed robbery. It really has turned into an international incident.
Photos courtesy of Getty.
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