Timeline of Alleged Rio Robbery of Lochte and Fellow Teammates
Ryan Lochte claims the robbery took place Aug. 14.
— -- A police investigation into the alleged robbery of four U.S. Olympic swimmers in Rio continues, but here is what we know so far about the events that unfolded in the Brazilian city.
Sunday, Aug. 14
Early Sunday morning, U.S. swimmers Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger, Jimmy Feigen and Ryan Lochte left France House - a venue set up as a nightclub during the Games - in a taxi headed for the Olympic Village, the Olympic Committee said. Police told ABC News the group left France House around 5 a.m.
In an interview Sunday with NBC News, Lochte described the alleged robbery. "We got pulled over, in the taxi, and these guys came out with a badge, a police badge," he explained.
"They pulled out their guns, they told the other swimmers to get down on the ground — they got down on the ground. I refused, I was like we didn't do anything wrong, so — I'm not getting down on the ground," Lochte recalled. "And then the guy pulled out his gun, he cocked it, put it to my forehead and he said, 'Get down,' and I put my hands up, I was like 'whatever.' He took our money, he took my wallet — he left my cellphone, he left my credentials."
Lochte tweeted Sunday, "While it is true that my teammates and I were the victims of a robbery early Sunday morning, what is most important is that we are safe and unharmed."
Wednesday, Aug. 17
U.S. Olympic Committee spokesman Patrick Sandusky said local police arrived at the Olympic Village Wednesday morning and asked to meet with Lochte and Feigen to "collect their passports in order to secure further testimony from the athletes."
According to Brazilian police, the statements given by the swimmers appeared to contradict one another, including the number of assailants and the time the events supposedly took place. A judge ordered a search of their rooms and a seizure of their passports.
But "the swim team moved out of the village after their competition ended, so we were not able to make the athletes available," Sandusky said.
Conger and Bentz were detained Wednesday night "shortly before their flight was scheduled to depart from Rio," Sandusky said. "They were released by local authorities with the understanding that they would continue their discussions about the incident."
Lochte, meanwhile, told NBC News' Matt Lauer Wednesday night that he returned home to the U.S. earlier that day as planned.
He also amended his earlier comments, telling Lauer that the swimmers had used a restroom at a gas station and when they returned to their taxi, the driver didn’t move. According to Lochte, that’s when two men approached with guns and badges and told them to get out and get down. The three other swimmers sat on a curb but Lochte refused, he said. A gunman pointed a gun in his direction and cocked it, Lochte added.
Today: Feigen, Conger and Bentz Still in Brazil
A Brazilian police source told ABC News today that "one of the swimmers was seen on CCTV footage breaking down the door to the bathroom at [a] gas station and fighting with a security guard" on the night of the incident.
Police told ABC News that the swimmers "offered 100 reals and $20" to compensate for the damage.
Surveillance video from Brazil’s Globo TV shows the swimmers at a gas station, located about 40 minutes from the Olympic village.
Then at a news conference this afternoon, Brazilian police said the swimmers were not robbed and were not victims.
The chief of Civil Police said one or more of the U.S. Olympians had vandalized a bathroom of a gas station after they left the party early Sunday morning. The athletes broke mirrors and damaged things inside, police said. The athletes initially refused to stay, but security asked the taxi not to leave. A third person stepped in to translate between the athletes and the guards, and the athletes left money, police said.
The police chief added that a taxi driver picked up two women from the same party, and the women said they were "dating" or had relations with the swimmers.
Police added that witnesses were initially afraid to speak to police because of retaliation from the high-profile foreign athletes involved.
Meanwhile, Bentz, Conger and Feigen are in Brazil and "are cooperating with authorities and in the process of scheduling a time and place today to provide further statements to the Brazilian authorities," Sandusky said.
The swimmers "are represented by counsel and being appropriately supported by the USOC and the U.S. Consulate in Rio," Sandusky said.
Jeff Ostrow, an attorney for Lochte, told ESPN that authorities have not reached Lochte since he gave his initial statement Sunday night.
“The authorities know how to get in touch with me and we would cooperate,” Ostrow said. “But I haven’t heard from anyone.”
Lochte was not asked by authorities to stay in the country, Ostrow added.
Federal Police in Brazil then told ABC News that Lochte and Feigen were recommended for charges of false reporting of a crime.
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