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The Alleged Ryan Lochte Robbery Might Not Be True

by Alexi McCammond

Reports of four U.S. swimmers being robbed at gunpoint in Rio de Janeiro came out on Sunday, Aug. 14. However, new information from Brazilian officials reportedly reveals that an alleged Ryan Lochte robbery video might tell a different story. Lochte, along with teammates Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger, and Jimmy Feigen, claimed that they were robbed in Rio by people dressed as armed police officers.

Update: Brazilian police officially declared that the four U.S. swimmers were not victims of robbery, BuzzFeed News reported. Instead, they said that the swimmers "vandalized the restroom" of a gas station, and that they tried to leave before police officers could arrive to help.

Earlier: After the alleged incident, Lochte told NBC news what happened: “The guy pulled out his gun, he cocked it, put it to my forehead and he said, ‘Get down.' 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.”

However, the Civil Police in Rio have since obtained official surveillance video which reportedly contradicts Lochte's story, BuzzFeed reported. Now, Brazilian sources have said that Lochte and his teammates "fabricated" the robbery story, according to Good Morning America. Apparently, a new video shows Lochte "fighting" with security at a local gas station in Rio, when he and his teammates were traveling back to the Olympic Village after a party.

Brazilian police told ABC News that "one of the swimmers was seen on CCTV footage breaking down the door to the bathroom at the gas station and fighting with a security guard."

There's a discrepancy with the time logs in the surveillance videos, too. Lochte and his teammates told authorities that they were at a party at France House, an Olympic hospitality venue, until 4 a.m. But a video later obtained by Daily Mail shows the swimmers arriving back at the Olympic Village at 7 a.m. Local authorities said it would never take three hours to travel from France House to the Olympic Village.

There were multiple contradictions between the swimmers' statements and the evidence Brazilian officials have reportedly obtained. In addition to the time at which these events allegedly happened, the numbers of assailants has also been contradicted across these statements, Yahoo reported. According to the swimmers, the taxi they were in was stopped by people dressed as armed police officers, but Brazilian police told BuzzFeed News that the swimmers were apparently intoxicated at the time of the alleged robbery and therefore could provide limited details of the actual incident.

Although Brazilian police had requested to detain and question the U.S. swimmers about this incident, Lochte somehow made it back to the States. Lochte continues to defend the robbery story, telling Today's Matt Lauer, "We wouldn't make this story up." Lochte also told Lauer that he and his teammates are "victims," and that they're happy to be safe after the alleged incident.

As of 10:30 a.m. ET, the video reportedly showing Lochte "fighting" with security at a Rio gas station has not yet been released to the public.