&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Fifth accuser comes forward after US Rep Eric Swalwell’s resignation, alleges drugging and rape")
Representative Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) officially resigned from Congress on Monday, as a fifth woman came forward on Tuesday (April 14) with serious allegations that the congressman drugged and raped her in 2018. The resignation marks a dramatic political downfall for the seven-term lawmaker, who just 48 hours earlier was considered a leading contender for Governor of California.
At a Tuesday press conference in Beverly Hills, Lonna Drewes, a fashion software entrepreneur, described a violent encounter with Swalwell following their third meeting. “He raped me, and he choked me. And while he was choking me, I lost consciousness. I thought I had died,” Drewes said, flanked by attorney Lisa Bloom. Drewes said she delayed coming forward out of fear of Swalwell’s political influence and alleged law enforcement connections.
Social media rumours spark investigation
The case against the 45-year-old lawmaker first gained traction in early April 2026 through digital advocacy and social media. Influencers, most notably Cheyenne Hunt of the youth political group Gen Z for Change, began sharing anonymous accounts from women alleging a pattern of abusive behaviour.
This online momentum laid the groundwork for major investigative reports published on April 10 by the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN, which brought the allegations into the mainstream. Those reports included claims from a former congressional staffer alleging two separate assaults, one in 2019 and another in New York in 2024, along with accounts from three other women who reported receiving unsolicited explicit content.
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Legal and political fallout
While Swalwell has strongly denied the rape allegations, he acknowledged “mistakes in judgment” before suspending his gubernatorial campaign on Sunday. The crisis has triggered multiple legal challenges, including a Manhattan District Attorney’s probe into the 2024 incident and a newly opened investigation by the Department of Homeland Security into separate allegations of improper hiring practices.
Although his resignation ends the jurisdiction of the House Ethics Committee, bipartisan calls for a public report continue. California Governor Gavin Newsom now has 14 days to announce a special election to fill the vacancy in the state’s 14th Congressional District.
