Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger have been pulled off a plane in a Rio de Janeiro airport, according to NBC Philadelphia news anchor Jim Rosenfield, and confirmed by NBC Sports.
#BREAKING: @NBCSports confirms @TeamUSA swimmers Bentz & Congee who said w/ @RyanLochte during robbery, pulled off plane #Rio2016 airport.
— Jim Rosenfield (@jimrosenfield) August 18, 2016
Neither swimmer was named earlier today by the Brazilian judge who forbid Ryan Lochte and Jimmy Feigen from leaving the country (although Lochte has already made it back to the U.S.
#BREAKING: 2/2 @TeamUSA swimmers Gunnar Bentz & Jack Conger not named by Brazilian judge who wanted Lochte & Feigen's passports seized
— Jim Rosenfield (@jimrosenfield) August 18, 2016
Meanwhile, as confirmed by NBC Sports, Feigen is also still in Brazil, as tweeted here by NBC News correspondent Peter Alexander.
To be clear, Ryan Lochte is back in US, Jimmy Feigen is still in Brazil. All this reporting confirmed by NBC Sports.
— Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) August 18, 2016
Matt Lauer of the Today Show spoke with Ryan Lochte tonight, and he will be speaking with Lochte on air.
UPDATE: New information on @RyanLochte. We'll have @MLauer on air at 10/9c tonight.
Watch online: https://t.co/lOWRWZw3LB#Rio2016
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) August 18, 2016
You can watch the live stream of that conversation tonight at 10 ET here on NBC.
Below is an report on the incident with updates from earlier today written by SwimSwam’s James Sutherland:
As we have been reporting over the last few days, Ryan Lochte, Jimmy Feigen, Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz were robbed and held up at gunpoint early Sunday morning after spending a night out following the final session of the Olympic swimming competition.
News has continued to break about the story all week, including the IOC denying the incident happened all together, and Lochte’s mom revealing that it in fact did happen. Lochte confirmed that it was true the following day and spoke about it on NBC.
A lot of the ongoing issues have stemmed from the fact that the swimmers did not file a police report, nor did they initially inform the USOC about the incident.
Things seem to have escalated once again, as the police have reportedly banned Lochte and Feigen from leaving the country until the story becomes clear and evidence is revealed, according to oglobo.com.
The police apparently received contradictory reports from both Lochte and Feigen about the incident, and the statements from the taxi driver don’t match up with their story.
Once the authorities found out that Lochte had already left the country on Monday, they obtained a warrant and searched the swimmers’ rooms in the Olympic village, mainly to locate Feigen’s cell phone to determine their location during the time of the attack. None of the four swimmers were found by police at the village, according to Globo.
USOC spokesperson Patrick Sandusky spoke about the incident, stating “there was no effort to detain anyone, but police did have further questions this a.m. It is a matter for our consulate and U.S. citizen services and we will continue to cooperate with all involved”, per USA Today.
There is no information as to why Bentz and Conger were not included in the report that suggests Lochte and Feigen were banned from leaving the country.
Lol to all the people who defended lochte. Read the news this morning. He was lying the whole time
Where’s the PROOF?
Socialism At its worst…..coming to USA soon I’m afraid
The message in all of this seems to be that if you are visiting Brazil, it is best NOT to report any criminal activity. Stay quiet and go home.
So.. when foreigners visit US and are request to give testimony please don´t be made if everbody leaves without giving a damn about the justice system.. and don´t judge anyone who did that also okay?
They were request to give testimony and stay in the country.. or because they are from US they can simply ignore the legal system of other countries? People, in any country if you are requested to give a testimony, do that.. is that too difficult to respect?
There’s nothing to give testimony about. There is no suspect or suspects. There is no taxi driver to interview (as far as the news has reported it.) The swimmers didn’t commit a crime, nor are they accused of committing a crime. Sounds like the Rio police are embarrassed about the press coverage. I’m sure Conger and Bentz just want to get home since classes start in the next week or so.
Actually saying a robbery happened without having is a false crime in Brazil.. and there is no need to have it formalized with the Cops.
And update from an US journalist:
#BREAKING Brazil sources: #RyanLochte + 3 swimmers fabricated robbery story. Video shows swimmer “fighting” w/security at gas station @GMA
Seems like one of the swimmer broke down a door of gas station toilet and fought with a employee
Again, WHERE is that video? Has anyone other than “Brazilian sources” seen it?
The story that Lochte was robbed and held at gunpoint made a huge international news.
It further damage Brazil and especially Rio reputation.
This is more than just Lochte’s getting robbed, Brazil wants the world to know that they are seriously on top of it.
And if Lochte lied, you can bet there will be repercussions.
Those are two different things: do not report AND stay quiet. Lochte only did one.
This is all lunacy.
It seems that was their intention to not report anything until Lochte’s Mom spilled the beans. None of this makes any sense. Why would they make up a story?They didn’t report anything until they were forced into it. Why would they make up such a story if it wasn’t true? Why did Lochte tell his Mom of all people? Aren’t Moms the last people you talk to if you have been up to no good? Why is it suspicious that they were leaving the Olympics when they left? There may have been an order, but did they know about it? How? Instagram has been full of Olympic swimmers that have been leaving Rio and traveling home over the past several… Read more »
Breaking News…Admiral William McCraven sends in Eddie Reese (and Kris Kubik) along with Seal Team 6 in a joint operation of awesomeness to extract the 3 remaining swimmers from Brazil. They are all safely in Austin, and Gunnar Bentz has decided to transfer to Texas.
I would caution to say that there is just SO MUCH that we don’t know about. I believe the swimmers. They haven’t said anything to indicate that they were lying. Furthermore, we know about Brazilian corruption and the numerous incidents of violence at these Games. A couple of Aussie athletes were already robbed at these Games. Do a Google search for “The Deadly Side of Rio…” – the Amnesty International article. If you read that and still have confidence in Brazilian justice….
Add to that the fact that the Brazilians clearly lied about the footage of the athletes returning to the Olympic village “joking around”. I saw the footage they released – no such thing happened. Now they’re claiming they… Read more »
Ouch. Just plain ouch.
Although hang on a minute… http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/37115269
Somebody should compile the number of host countries who have been victimized by crime at these Rio Games. Then link those FACTUAL events to the numerous online articles that detail Brazilian corruption. I especially like the Amnesty International one on “The Deadly Side of Rio….”
I sure hope these guys are telling the truth. I don’t know the rules, but won’t there be some repercussions from USA Swimming once they get home.
“No, it’s true, I was with Lochte at the time of the robbery, we are all still shaken by the ordeal”-Brian Williams
LOL. Touche.
Your insinuation aside, you still don’t KNOW what you’re talking about. I have yet to see the video proof. Anybody have a link?
Would we expect good things to happen with a reality TV flop with blue hair after midnight?