A Rio judge has issued a search and seizure warrant for Ryan Lochte and James Feigen, two of the four U.S. swimmers who reported being robbed at gunpoint while in a taxi on Sunday.
Police in Rio de Janeiro went to the Olympic Village on Wednesday morning in an attempt to seize the athletes’ passports and gather further testimony about the incident, CNN reports.
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The actions of Brazilian authorities come hours after it was revealed that local police were calling the Olympians‘ story into question.
Police claim there is no evidence to support the encounter and the athletes were unable to provide key details during police interviews
Lochte and Feigen were not in the Olympic village when police arrived to collect their passports and interview them again.
“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.
He added, “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.”
Lochte’s attorney Jeff Ostrow confirmed that his client has already returned to the U.S.
“This happened the way he described it,” Ostrow told the Associated Press.
He also revealed that the medal winner had hired 24-hour security in the wake of the incident for the time he was in Rio.
Feigen’s whereabouts have not been confirmed.
“There was no effort to detain anyone, but police did have further questions this a.m.,” US Olympic Committee spokesman Patrick Sandusky said. “It is a matter for our consulate and US Citizen Services, and we will continue to cooperate with all involved.”
On Sunday, Lochte reiterated the story that said that the four swimmers were stopped by men pretending to police and were robbed at gun point.
According to CNN, their story has been doubted since an unauthenticated video allegedly shows the athletes looking relaxed as they return to the village after the ordeal supposedly took place. They are also in possession of high-value items, which might have been expected to have been taken in a robbery.
This article first appeared on Womanista.com
