Brazilian police have indicted two U.S. Olympic swimmers on charges of falsely reporting a crime, specifically the “armed robbery” at a gas station that has blown up into an international incident.
Police had said earlier in the day that they thought Ryan Lochte and James Feigen made up the account of being robbed rather than admit they had vandalized a gas-station bathroom and been made to pay for the damage.
GloboNews television reported that Fernando Veloso, the Rio de Janeiro police chief, had recommended that the charge be brought, though it carries no prison time and is likely to result only in a fine.
Mr. Lochte is in the United States but Mr. Feigen is still in Brazil, having being forced to surrender his passport and been banned from leaving the country.
On Wednesday, Brazilian authorities detained two other U.S. swimmers present at the purported robbery — Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger — before they could leave on a flight to the U.S. But there was no immediate word on whether charges would be pending against them.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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