Four US Olympic swimmers have said they were robbed at gunpoint early Sunday in Rio de Janeiro, but Brazilian authorities told reporters Thursday their story is not true.
At a news conference, officials showed surveillance video that appeared to show no robbery, and police said the one or more members of the quartet might be charged with damaging a gas station or false communication of a crime.
Police did say at least one part of the swimmers’ story was true — there was a gun pointed at them, but it was by a security guard. In the view of the police, it was not an excessive use of force.
Here are all the twist and turns in the accounts of what happened to swimmers Ryan Lochte, James Feigen, Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz that morning — and since — in Rio:
Sunday, August 14
Reports emerged Sunday morning that the four swimmers were robbed at gunpoint hours earlier. Shortly afterward, Lochte’s mother, Ileana Lochte, told the media the swimmers were in a taxi when confronted by people with guns, who stole their wallets.
The International Olympic Committee initially denied a robbery occurred.
But in an interview with Olympic broadcaster NBC, Lochte gave a chilling account of how the swimmers were stopped in a taxi returning from a party and confronted by men with a police badge. They demanded the swimmers get down on the ground, and when Lochte refused, he said one bandit cocked a gun and pressed it up against his forehead.
He later tweeted, thanking fans for their support.
The US Olympic Committee corroborated Lochte’s account.
Monday, August 15
The IOC reversed its position the following day, saying it now believed the robbery took place. It said the US committee had initially said otherwise, causing the confusion.
Tuesday, August 16
Lochte arrived back in the United States, explaining that the swimmers didn’t initially tell the US Olympic Committee about the robbery out of fear of being punished, giving perhaps some explanation for the initial confusion.
But police said the swimmers were intoxicated, giving accounts full of murky details and in conflict with one another.
Wednesday, August 17
A Brazilian judge ordered a search and seizure warrant for Lochte and Feigen as well as the confiscation of their passports. But when police arrived at the Olympics Village, the men were not there. Lochte’s attorney, Jeff Ostrow, said the athletes had moved out after the completion of their sporting events and that his client had returned to the United States.
On Wednesday night, Conger and Bentz were pulled off a plane bound for the United States and told they were barred from leaving Brazil until they gave a statement to police.
Lochte spoke again to NBC, which reported he had changed his account slightly, saying the men were robbed after using a toilet at a gas station. He said a gun was pointed inches from him, not at his forehead.
Thursday, August 18
A police news conference added further intrigue to the story. Fernando Veloso, chief of civil police in Rio de Janeiro, told reporters Lochte was confrontational with security guards after they stopped him and the other swimmers from vandalizing a gas station because he was “very angry because he was intoxicated.”
The video shows no robbery took place, Veloso said.
Officials said Conger and Bentz spoke with police Thursday at the tourist police office. Later, the two swimmers were seen at the airport, apparently on their way home.
Feigen also spoke to police, but Veloso wouldn’t comment on where the questioning took place.
Earlier, Veloso said one swimmer confirmed what officials believe the surveillance video shows.
Later that evening, the USOC puts out a statement apologizing for the incident and saying Bentz and Conger have departed Rio.
The USOC also said that Feigen gave police a revised statement “with the hope of securing the release of his passport as soon as possible. “
