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Anti-Ryan Lochte Pair Charged for Rushing Set of 'Dancing With the Stars': Prosecutors

Sam Sotoodeh and Barzeen Soroudi were charged Monday with interfering with a performance and leaving a spectator area and entering a stage.
Cheryl Burke, Ryan Lochte
Cheryl Burke, left, and Ryan Lochte, perform on ABC's 'Dancing with the Stars' during its season premiere on Sept. 12, 2016.Eric McCandless / ABC via AP

Prosecutors have charged two men who rushed the stage of "Dancing with the Stars" in a protest against Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte.

Sam Sotoodeh and Barzeen Soroudi were charged Monday with interfering with a performance and leaving a spectator area and entering a stage, both misdemeanors, said the Los Angeles city attorney's office.

Cheryl Burke, Ryan Lochte
Cheryl Burke, left, and Ryan Lochte, perform on ABC's 'Dancing with the Stars' during its season premiere on Sept. 12, 2016.Eric McCandless / ABC via AP

Sotoodeh, 59, and Soroudi, 25, were arrested Sept. 12 on the set of ABC's ballroom dancing competition. Both were authorized members of the audience during the live taping.

Video shared on social media by fellow Olympic swimmer Ed Moses captured the ensuing chaos: Security guards were seen pinning one of the men and escorting him out, while a group of women wearing anti-Lochte T-shirts were forced to leave.

ABC News Radio reporter Jason Nathanson tweeted a photo of two handcuffed men wearing anti-Lochte T-shirts as well.

The set-crashing incident was not broadcast during the actual show, and ABC quickly cut to commercial amid the confusion.

Satoodeh later told ABC News the men wanted to "get the message out that Lochte is a coward, a liar and, under Brazilian law, a criminal."

Lochte and swimming teammates faced backlash after lying about a drunken encounter with security at a gas station during the Rio Olympics.

Related: U.S. Olympic Team Suspends Ryan Lochte for 10 Months

Olympic officials earlier this month doled out his punishment: He won't be able to compete in swimming events for 10 months and also can't take part in next year's world championships.

Three of his teammates who were with him that night — Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and James Geigen — were suspended for four months.

Lochte, who lost some sponsors after the embarrassing episode in Rio, has yet to be eliminated from "Dancing With the Stars."

Meanwhile, Sotoodeh and Soroudi are expected to be arraigned Oct. 4. Each man could face 6 months in jail and a $1,000 fine if convicted.