American swimmers Ryan Lochte, Gunnar Bentz, James Feigen, and Jack Conger peed on the Barra da Tijuca gas station in defiance after being told to use the bathroom, according to the gas station owner who spoke with O Globo.
The report, written in Portuguese, says that the group of swimmers were asked to use the bathroom at the gas station, but instead allegedly pissed on the wall. There’s a mention of an image of one of their butts, though it isn’t clear if that’s a mental image from one of the attendants, or a literal image. (If you know anything about that part, drop a line at tips@deadspin.com.) One of them allegedly tore down an “advertising board,” too.
It isn’t clear if a specific number of the four swimmers were vandalizing the gas station with their pee, or if it was all of them. We’ll update if we get any more details.
Update (12:41 p.m.): Here’s a snippet of security camera footage, via Globo.
Update (12:52 p.m.): The Associated Press is reporting that Conger and Bentz have admitted to police that Lochte fabricated the story. The AP’s police source says that a security guard had a gun, but didn’t brandish it. From the report:
He said that around 6 a.m. on Sunday, Lochte, along with fellow swimmers Jack Conger, Gunnar Bentz and Jimmy Feigen, stopped at a gas station in Barra da Tijuca, a suburb of Rio where many Olympic venues are located. One of the swimmers tried but failed to open the door of an outside bathroom.
A few of the swimmers then pushed on the door and broke it. A security guard appeared and confronted them, the official said.
The official says the guard was armed with a pistol, but he never took it out or pointed it at the swimmers.
Update (3:44 p.m.): Brazilian police held a press conference with some more details. The police claim there were two women with the group, and that Lochte was the most “rowdy.”
[O Globo]