Police in Rio de Janeiro stormed the Olympic Village in Brazil on Wednesday to seize the passports of U.S. swimmers Ryan Lochte and James Feigen as they attempted to collect further testimony from them about a reported robbery, a U.S. Olympic Committee spokesman said.
The swimmers were involved in an investigation into an alleged robbery that reportedly happened in the early hours of Sunday.
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A Brazilian judge has issued a search and seizure warrant for two of the four U.S. swimmers reportedly robbed in Rio de Janeiro early Sunday. “The swim team moved out of the village after their competition ended, so we were not able to make the athletes available,” Patrick Sandusky, USOC chief external affairs officer, said in a statement.
“Additionally, as part of our standard security protocol, we do not make athlete travel plans public and therefore cannot confirm the athletes’ current location. We will continue to cooperate with Brazilian authorities.” According to a statement by the Rio Justice tribunal, Judge Keyla Blanc De Cnop, of the Special Court of the Fan and Major Events, ordered search warrants for American swimmers Ryan Lochte and James Feigen and the seizure of their passports. Lochte has already left Brazil and returned to the U.S., his lawyer, Jeff Ostrow. h/t CNN.
The swimmers claimed they had been robbed in Rio while somehow retaining several articles of “high value.” Police said the swimmers were unable to provide key details in police interviews – and claim they have found contradictions in the swimmers’ stories.