In brief
Lonna Drewes publicly accused Rep. Eric Swalwell of rape during a press conference, claiming the incident occurred in 2018 at a hotel in Southern California. Drewes plans to file a report with law enforcement and disclosed that she believes she was drugged during the alleged assault. This comes as Swalwell, who recently announced his resignation from Congress following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, faces increasing scrutiny. Swalwell denies the allegations but has acknowledged making ‘errors in judgment’ in the past.
LOS ANGELES — A California woman, Lonna Drewes, has come forward with allegations that Rep. Eric Swalwell raped her in 2018. During a news conference, Drewes indicated she plans to file a report with law enforcement concerning the incident, which she claims took place at a hotel in Southern California. She stated that she had consumed only one glass of wine that night and suspects Swalwell may have drugged her before the assault.
On Sunday, Swalwell, who recently withdrew from the race for California governor, announced that he would resign from Congress, following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, including previous accusations from other women regarding inappropriate behavior and nonconsensual sex. Drewes firmly stated, I did not consent to any sexual activity.
According to Drewes, she reported the alleged assault to friends and documented it in her journal, detailing her experiences during therapy sessions at a sexual assault center in Connecticut. Her attorney, Lisa Bloom, mentioned that the journal entries, along with text messages and photographs, will accompany the report to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Drewes recounted that she had met Swalwell, who offered to assist her in her career as a model and fashion software entrepreneur, two times prior to the incident. The night of the alleged assault, she met Swalwell at a restaurant event, anticipating to attend a political function with him. However, they purportedly detoured to his hotel room under the pretext of collecting some paperwork. Upon arriving, Drewes said she felt an overwhelming heaviness in her limbs, suggesting she may have been drugged prior to the incident.
She described the assault as not only physically violating but also expressed that Swalwell later choked her to the point of losing consciousness. Swalwell, who has denied prior allegations of sexual assault and claimed that he made some errors in judgment, faces a growing wave of scrutiny following the public accusations.
As the political landscape in California shifts following Swalwell’s announcement and Drewes’ allegations, the effects of these accusations could reverberate throughout the state's political community.
