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Not Adding Up: Did US Olympic Medalist Lochte Lie About Gunpoint Robbery in Rio?

© Flickr / JD LasicaUS Olympic Swimmer Ryan Lochte
US Olympic Swimmer Ryan Lochte - Sputnik International
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Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte is back in the United States, despite a Brazilian judge ordering the seizure of his passport, after allegations that the athlete lied about being robbed at gunpoint while in Rio.

Special police forces patrol inside the Olympic Park less than two weeks before the start of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in the Barra da Tijuca neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 24, 2016. - Sputnik International
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Lochte, 32, reported that he and three other swimmers were held up by robbers posing as police on their way to a party early Sunday morning.

"We got pulled over, in the taxi, and these guys came out with a badge, a police badge, no lights, no nothing just a police badge and they pulled us over," Lochte told NBC. "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. 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 cell phone, he left my credentials."

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On Wednesday, a judge prohibited Lochte and fellow swimmer James Feigen from leaving the country, after officials noted discrepancies in their stories. Brazilian authorities claim that Lochte reported being robbed by one person, while Feigen claimed there were multiple robbers. Surveillance footage reportedly showed the two swimmers returning to Olympic Village in good spirits and evidently with their belongings, asserting that the men were not acting like people who had just been robbed at gunpoint.

"Judge Keyla Blanc De Cnop, the Special Court of the Fan and Major Events, ordered the dispatch of search warrants and seizure of passports of American swimmers Ryan Lochte and James Feigen,” a statement from Brazilian authorities read. "With this, they are prohibited from leaving the country."

Jeff Ostrow, Lochte’s attorney, responded to the statement saying that he has no information about Brazilian authorities wanting his client’s passport.

"I’m shocked to hear that they would go to such measures in an effort to further investigate the incident as he has been nothing but cooperative with authorities, including sitting for a full interview with the Tourist Police, US State Department, USOC Security, FBI, and anyone else that requested to be present,” Ostrow said. "Ryan is safely back in the United States."

It is currently unknown whether Feigen has returned home.

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