It would seem that reports of an indictment against Team USA swimmers Ryan Lochte and Jimmy Feigen was premature. Brazilian authorities are now telling the media that while they insist the swimmers were not robbed during the incident, there won’t be any formal charges until after the investigation is complete according to ESPN:
Lochte has maintained that he and his teammates were robbed at gunpoint at a gas station in a Rio suburb after returning from a night of partying.
“No robbery was committed against these athletes. They were not victims of the crimes they claimed,” Veloso said during an afternoon news conference Thursday.
Reuters also supported reports that no charges have been filed, with only a recommendation being floated as option for now:
GloboNews reported that police were recommending prosecutors charge Lochte and fellow gold medalist Jimmy Feigen with falsely reporting a crime, but a police source later said this had not yet happened.
CNN had reported that Brazilian authorities were seeking an apology at least from the swimmers involved in the incident, but there are also conflicting reports that Lochte and the rest of the swimmers are prepared to “double down” on their claims that they were robbed:
#breaking sources who spoke to all four US swimmers double down: insist robbery true + police are lying about certain aspects of case @ABC
— Matt Gutman (@mattgutmanABC) August 18, 2016
We’ll update the situation as it happens.
(Via Deadspin / ESPN / Reuters)
