Eric Swalwell Accuser Claims He ‘Drugged’ Her Drink Before Alleged Sexual Assault

A woman who identified herself as Lonna Drewes in a press conference today claimed that she was sexually assaulted by former Congressman Eric Swalwell.

Drewes told reporters on Tuesday, April 14, that Swalwell, 45, took her to multiple public events.

“On the third occasion, I believe he drugged my drink. I only had one glass of wine,” Drewes said. “We were supposed to go to a political event and he said he needed to get paperwork from his hotel room.”

She continued, “When I arrived at his hotel room, I was already incapacitated and I couldn’t move my arms or my body. He raped me and he choked me.”

Drewes added that while Swalwell allegedly “was choking” her, she “lost consciousness.”

Lisa Bloom, one of Drewes’ attorneys, also spoke at the press conference and said she was “sick and tired of women being victimized by men in power.”

As Globe previously reported, the allegations come after the San Francisco Chronicle published a report on April 10 in which a woman accused Swalwell of sexually assaulting her while she was too intoxicated to consent.

According to the report, the woman said she joined Swalwell’s staff in 2019 at age 21 and alleged that he began pursuing her shortly after, including sending explicit images via Snapchat. She claimed that while they engaged in a consensual sexual encounter once, he later had sex with her when she was too intoxicated to consent and attempted to do so again five years later.

CNN also published a report on April 10 in which three other women accused the Democratic politician of sexual misconduct.

Swalwell later dropped out of California’s governor’s race on Sunday, April 12, and resigned from Congress the following day.

“I am deeply sorry to my family, staff, and constituents for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past,” he wrote via X on Monday, April 13. “I will fight the serious, false allegations made against me. However, I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make.”

He concluded, “I am aware of efforts to bring an immediate expulsion vote against me and other members. Expelling anyone in Congress without due process, within days of an allegation being made, is wrong. But it’s also wrong for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties. Therefore, I plan to resign my seat in Congress.”