On Sunday morning, Ryan Lochte claimed he was robbed at gunpoint in Rio de Janeiro along with three other U.S. swimmers following a party outside the confines of the Olympic Village. But the story took a really confusing turn when IOC officials released a statement claiming that the armed robbery never happened, even as Lochte's mother insisted it did.
Three days later, Brazilian officials are still trying to sort out what actually happened, and it seems they want to speak more with Lochte about the incident. So on Wednesday morning, a Brazilian judge attempted to seize the passports of Lochte and his teammate James Feigen in order to force them to stay in Brazil so that police can get more information from them about the alleged armed robbery that they were involved in. Judge Keyla Blank ordered both of them to remain in Brazil for further questioning.
While rendering her decision, Judge Blank referred to a surveillance video taken at the Olympic Village on Sunday that shows Lochte and Feigen joking with one another a short time after the alleged robbery took place. The judge pointed out that both men "arrived with their psychological and physical integrity unperturbed."
However, it seems Lochte won't be speaking with Brazilian police about the incident anytime soon. According to the U.S. Olympic Committee, police did try to seize his passport on Wednesday, but he had already taken a flight back to the U.S. on Tuesday. Lochte's dad confirmed that his son is back in the States. As for Feigen, it's unclear whether or not he has departed Brazil yet.
Police in Rio have been suspicious of the stories Lochte and Feigen told following the alleged armed robbery and have found discrepancies in each of their versions of what took place. Lochte claimed a group of muggers posing as cops pulled over a cab that the U.S. swimmers were traveling in before robbing them, while Feigen claimed the robbery was carried out by a single gunman. Both men were also unable to recall where the crime occurred or even the color of their taxi. Furthermore, police have been unable to track down the taxi driver who was driving the men at the time of the robbery, and they were unaware a crime even took place at first because Lochte and Feigen never officially reported it. Lochte later said the two were "afraid we'd get in trouble" if the story came out, which is why it went unreported.
At some point, the truth about what really took place will likely come out, but for now, there are still more questions than answers.
