Ryan Wedding: The Olympian’s ‘Voluntary’ Surrender Contested

The arrest of former Winter Olympian Ryan James Wedding took a surprising turn. Recall, the FBI claimed that after negotiating, he turned himself in at the US Embassy in Mexico. And that claim, made for one eye-opener from court this week. Read on for more.

The Court Appearance

The former athlete was arrested for the true crime of being an alleged drug kingpin, and a murderer. Well, in court, despite all of the serious charges, he seemed very relaxed with his attorney, Anthony Colombo.

CNN reported that Ryan Wedding appeared in federal court in Santa Ana, California, on Monday, January 26. There, he discovered the official charges against him. They include serious crimes such as heading a billion-dollar drug trafficking organization, planning murders, and laundering money.

When the judge asked if he had reviewed the charges, Wedding simply replied, “I’ve read them both, yes.” Additionally, when it came time to plead, he entered his plea as not guilty on all the charges. Actually, given the amount of true crime evidence that the FBI claimed they had, that alone seems astonishing.

Am Unexpected Twist

Here’s where the story gets more complicated. Actually, it seems astonishing because it involves the way he was taken into custody. According to original reports, Ryan Wedding negotiated for some time, and then surrendered by walking into the US Embassy.

Notably, the FBI referred to it as a “voluntary” action after being on their Top Ten Most Wanted list. And, Kash Patel made a big song and dance about it in a press conference. However, Anthony Colombo, disputed that version of events.

Speaking to reporters outside the court, he claimed that his client didn’t surrender. CNN cited him as saying, “He was arrested. He did not surrender.” Additionally, he believed his client wasn’t hiding in Mexico, and that he simply lived there.

The Trial & True Crime Reactions

The trial of Ryan Wedding seems likely to find a lot of interested true crime followers. The judge ordered him detained without bail. And, his next hearing takes place on February 11, with a provisional trial date of March 24, 2026.

When USA Today Sports shared the Attorney’s statement on YouTube, which you can watch below, a few people had something to say.

Notably, as he’s Candian, one viewer wonder, “why not turn yourself into Canada?”

And, another one clearly didn’t believe the attorney’s version or the not guilty plea. They penned, “He’s screwed…for life. Another one bites the dust.”

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below, and come back here often for all your true crime news and updates.