One of the hottest stories to come out of the 2016 Olympics — and one that has gained even more steam over the weekend since the US mainstream media was loving it — and feeding it to us constantly is this: “Four American Olympic Athletes destroyed a gas station bathroom in a drunken haze then lied to police about an armed robbery to cover-up their drunken behavior.”
Except USA Today has discovered that the entire narrative is completely false.
Who would have guessed our media were a bunch of liars who don’t do any actual investigating before throwing AMERICANS under the bus! Luckily USA Today did some real investigative work by talking to witnesses and actually watching the surveillance videos.
But a narrative of the night’s events – constructed by USA TODAY Sports from witness statements, official investigations, surveillance videos and media reports – supports Lochte’s later account in which he said he thought the swimmers were being robbed when they were approached at a gas station by armed men who flashed badges, pointed guns at them and demanded money.
Did you read that? Lochte’s story pans out based on their investigation.
It gets even better.
An extensive review of surveillance footage by a USA TODAY Sports videographer who also visited the gas station supports swimmer Gunnar Bentz’s claim that he did not see anyone vandalize the restroom, an allegation that in particular heightened media portrayals of the four as obnoxious Americans behaving recklessly in a foreign country. Meanwhile, Rio authorities have declined to identify the guards or offer any details beyond confirming they are members of law enforcement who were working a private security detail.
The Brazilian Police, one of the most corrupt organizations in the world, so corrupt that it has its own Wikipedia page, failed to identify the guards or even offer any details regarding the event. Hell, their entire narrative about the bathroom being destroyed is a complete LIE. There is zero evidence the bathroom was destroyed.
Swimmer Jack Conger confirms the bathroom wasn’t destroyed in a statement he made:
Four of us took a taxi back to the Olympic Village, and on the way we pulled into a gas station to use the restroom, but ultimately relieved ourselves outside, for which I apologize. Ryan Lochte removed a poster from a nearby wall, which apparently alerted the gas station employees, leading to our being confronted by two armed security men. Although I cooperated with their requests while there was a heated exchange among others, at one point a weapon was pointed at me. Eventually, a man appeared who was able to translate for us, helping to defuse the situation. We paid some money to compensate them for the torn poster, and returned to the Village in a different taxi.
In fact, Conger confirms the police committed armed robbery stating a weapon was pointed at him until they paid them off. This is absolutely heinous.
In case, you weren’t fully convinced yet about how TERRIBLE our media is. Here are some photos of that gorgeous bathroom that they supposedly destroyed.
And about those bathrooms that were supposedly destroyed? A complete and utter lie fabricated by Rio police chief Fernando Veloso and jumped on by the corrupt anti-American media.
At a news conference Thursday, Rio police chief Fernando Veloso characterized the athletes’ actions at the gas station as vandalism. He said they also had broken a soap dispenser and mirror inside the restroom. Reports quickly grew that the Americans had trashed the restroom.
A USA TODAY Sports videographer who visited the bathroom Thursday found no damage to soap dispensers and mirrors and said none of those items appeared to be new. Some media accounts suggested the men had broken down a door, which USA TODAY Sports also did not observe.
Bentz said in his statement that he believes there are surveillance videos shot from different angles that have not been released. He also said he did not see anyone damage the bathroom or even enter it.
NBC journalist Keir Simmons confirms there was no damage to the bathroom.
Watch:
Gunnar Bentz corroborates Conger’s statement that the the swimmers didn’t even go to the bathroom at all!
After attending an event with several swimmers from different nations, I left in a taxicab along with U.S. swimmers Jack Conger, Jimmy Feigen and Ryan Lochte around 6 a.m. On the way back to the Olympic Village, we pulled into a convenience store to use the restroom. There was no restroom inside, so we foolishly relieved ourselves on the backside of the building behind some bushes. There was a locked door out back and I did not witness anyone breaking it open. I am unsure why, but while we were in that area, Ryan pulled to the ground a framed metal advertisement that was loosely anchored to the brick wall. I then suggested to everyone that we needed to leave the area and we returned to the taxi.
Two men, whom I believe to have been security guards, then instructed us to exit the vehicle. No guns were drawn during this exchange, but we did see a gun tucked into one of the guard’s waistband. As Jimmy and Jack were walking away from the vehicle, the first security guard held up a badge to me and drew his handgun. I yelled to them to come back toward us and they complied. Then the second guard drew his weapon and both guards pointed their guns at us and yelled at us to sit on a nearby sidewalk.
Again, I cannot speak to his actions, but Ryan stood up and began to yell at the guards. After Jack and I both tugged at him in an attempt to get him to sit back down, Ryan and the security guards had a heated verbal exchange, but no physical contact was made.
Remember the guy who helped translate for Conger, Lochte, Bentz, Jimmy Feigen and friends? His name is Fernando Deluz. He confirms the guards pulled a gun on the swimmers. Here’s what he had to say to USA Today:
As soon as they drew their weapon, that’s when I got worried. It was also so fast, and what I wanted was to resolve the situation. If it hadn’t been for wanting to resolve that, if I hadn’t involved myself, I thought – the police chief told me, ‘Man, if you hadn’t gone there in that moment, a tragedy could have occurred.’
I wonder what the police chief was thinking when he said “tragedy?” Could it have been the murder of an American Olympian?
Bentz backs up Lochte and Conger’s story about the police officers refusing to let them go until they paid them:
In a statement released Friday, Bentz confirmed police accounts that indicated Lochte damaged a sign during the incident and got into a “heated exchange” with the guards. But Bentz, who said authorities viewed him as a witness and never a suspect in the case, offered a narrative that closely matches Lochte’s revised account that he gave to Lauer three days after the incident. Bentz said his recollection was that money was demanded from the Americans by armed men in order for the swimmers to be allowed to leave.
Bentz reinforced the truth of his story, “I never made a false statement to anyone at any time.” This echoes Conger who said, ” I have been completely truthful in my statements throughout this unfortunate situation, including the information I provided to US officials before leaving Brazil.”
To top it off, the Rio police pulled the same stunt with a much higher return. They held the fourth Olympic Swimmer Jimmy Feigen ransom for $10,800.
What did our media do? They threw our AMERICAN athletes under the bus and let a 3rd world, corrupt country run roughshod all over them. They might as well have been in cahoots with the Rio authorities because of their gross negligence and utter incompetence.
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H/T: Hot Air
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