UPDATE (9:15 p.m. ET): Despite an earlier report from Globo News, it appears Ryan Lochte and fellow USA swimmer Jimmy Feigen haven’t been indicted at this point for falsifying a police report.
Brazilian police told ESPN they still are investigating what happened early Sunday morning when Lochte, Feigen and two other USA swimmers arrived at a gas station. ESPN did point out that “serious charges” still are possible. ABC News reported the police recommended that both swimmers face charges.
The swimmers originally claimed they were victims of an armed robbery, but police painted a different picture, which included vandalism, Thursday afternoon.
ORIGINAL STORY: What originally was an alleged robbery at gunpoint now reportedly has turned into an apparent cover-up that has led to the indictment of one of the United States’ most recognizable Olympians.
Ryan Lochte and fellow USA swimmer Jimmy Feigen were indicted by Rio de Janeiro police for falsifying a crime report, according to Brazil’s Globo News.
This breaking news comes just hours after Rio police painted a very different picture of what allegedly happened to Lochte, Feigen and two other American swimmers — Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz — early Sunday morning.
The swimmers’ original account of the incident included an armed robbery committed by people dressed as police officers, but Fernando Veloso, Rio’s civil police chief, described it as an act of vandalism in a gas station bathroom during a press conference Thursday.
Lochte already has returned to the U.S. Conger and Bentz both were removed from a plane Wednesday night as they tried to return to the U.S., and they later were questioned by police.
Thumbnail photo via Rob Schumacher/USA TODAY Sports Images
