Politics
The woman said Swalwell raped her in a West Hollywood hotel room in 2018. She said she believed she was drugged.
LOS ANGELES — A woman who turned to Rep. Eric Swalwell of California for political help said Tuesday that he raped her in a West Hollywood hotel, the latest in a series of accusations that have ended his political career and put him in legal jeopardy.
The woman, Lonna Drewes, a model who works in fashion technology, said at a news conference in Beverly Hills, California, that in 2018, Swalwell had promised to take her to a political event before drugging and sexually assaulting her.
The New York Times has not confirmed her account. Drewes said she told people close to her about the episode at the time it happened, but her lawyers did not make any of them available for comment Tuesday, saying that they planned to share evidence with law enforcement.
“My delay in taking action against Eric was driven by fear, not doubt,” Drewes said Tuesday. “Fear of his political power, his background as an attorney, and his family law enforcement ties.”
Less than two hours after Drewes’ accusations were made public, Swalwell’s office said his resignation from Congress would take effect at 2 p.m. Eastern time.
Swalwell, a Democrat from the San Francisco Bay Area, had been running for governor but suspended his campaign Sunday after reports by the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN. In those articles, a different woman, whom the news outlets did not name, gave detailed descriptions of several sexual encounters with Swalwell, including two instances where the woman said she was too intoxicated to give consent. Two other women said Swalwell sent them unsolicited photos of his penis.
Swalwell, who is married with three young children, has vigorously denied engaging in sexual misconduct but has apologized for “mistakes in judgment.”
On Tuesday, Sara Azari, a lawyer representing him, said that he “categorically and unequivocally denies each and every allegation of sexual misconduct and assault that has been leveled against him.”
Drewes said she was living in Beverly Hills in 2018 when she became friendly acquaintances with Swalwell. At the time, she was interested in local politics and was considering a run for City Council.
Drewes said that she had socialized with Swalwell twice, including at a restaurant opening in 2018 where the two were photographed together. At the time, she said had been in a committed relationship.
Swalwell had offered to help her make connections, Drewes said, and the two had planned to attend a political event together.
Drewes said Swalwell told her he needed to stop by his hotel room to pick up paperwork beforehand. Before going to Swalwell’s room, Drewes said she drank one glass of wine, which Drewes said she believed Swalwell had drugged.
“When I arrived at his hotel room, I was already incapacitated, and I couldn’t move my arms or my body,” Drewes said Tuesday, sitting beside her lawyers, Lisa Bloom and Arick Fudali.
“He raped me, and he choked me. And while he was choking me, I lost consciousness, and I thought I died,” Drewes said, stressing that she “did not consent to any sexual activity.”
Drewes said she did not undergo a rape kit or report the episode to the police but had discussed it with people close to her, written about it in her calendar and later talked about it in therapy.
Rumors about Swalwell’s conduct with former staff members began to circulate online in recent months, just as he had started to gain momentum as a front-runner in the wide-open race to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Then came the CNN and Chronicle reports. According to the Chronicle, a former staff member said that Swalwell had sexually assaulted her in a New York hotel. On Saturday, one day later, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said it was investigating Swalwell.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.