By Caitlin Yilek
Updated April 14, 2026 / CBS News
Washington — A woman identified Tuesday as Lonna Drewes told reporters she was drugged and raped by former Rep. Eric Swalwell after he offered to help her career in 2018.
Drewes, speaking at a Beverly Hills news conference with attorneys, said Swalwell invited her to a political event but that they later went to his hotel room because he said he needed to get paperwork. “I believe he drugged my drink. I only had one glass of wine,” she said. She described arriving at the room already incapacitated, unable to move her arms or body, and alleged Swalwell raped and choked her, saying she lost consciousness during the encounter.
Drewes said she did not undergo a rape kit, but that she disclosed the alleged assault to people close to her and recorded it in a handwritten calendar. She told reporters she discussed the incident in therapy at a sexual-assault center in Connecticut and that fear of Swalwell’s political power and legal background delayed her speaking out. Drewes said the alleged assault deeply affected her mental health and contributed to unhealthy self-medication. She also said she had met Swalwell twice before the incident and that during the encounter he offered connections to help her software company.
Her attorney, Lisa Bloom, said they plan to file a police report with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and that Drewes came forward to support other women who have made allegations against Swalwell.
Later Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said its Special Victims Bureau was investigating a report from an adult female alleging she was sexually assaulted by Swalwell in July 2018 at a business in West Hollywood. The department said it will present the investigation to the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office for filing consideration once the probe is complete.
Swalwell, who announced Sunday that he would end his campaign for California governor and said Monday he planned to resign from Congress, formally stepped down from his House seat on Tuesday. His attorney, Sara Azari, issued a statement saying Swalwell “categorically and unequivocally denies each and every allegation of sexual misconduct and assault that has been leveled against him,” calling the claims “false, fabricated, and deeply offensive — a calculated and transparent political hit job.”
The new claim follows several recent accusations. The San Francisco Chronicle published an account from a former Swalwell staffer who said she was sexually assaulted twice when she was too intoxicated to consent. Two other women, Annika Albrecht and Ally Sammarco, told CBS News Swalwell sent unsolicited explicit Snapchat messages. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has confirmed it is investigating sexual-assault allegations against Swalwell, and the congressman faced an inquiry from the House Ethics Committee amid pressure from Democratic leaders, including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The allegations have reverberated across Capitol Hill and coincided with political fallout for other members.