The latest alleged victim of Eric Swalwell claimed the disgraced California Democrat drugged, raped and choked her in a terrifying encounter in 2018 that left her thinking, “I thought I died.”
Model Lonna Drewes, 50, on Tuesday divulged graphic details of the alleged sexual assault in Swalwell’s West Hollywood hotel room, claiming the ex-congressman — whose wife was pregnant at the time — baited her by pretending to be interested in helping her grow her fashion software company.
“After meeting, he offered me connections to further my software company, and I also had an interest in local politics,” Drewes, who was working as a model and living in Beverly Hills at the time, said at a press conference flanked by her high-powered attorney Lisa Bloom.
She said she knew the then-congressman was married and expecting a child when she went to two events with him. But, “on the third occasion, I believe he drugged my drink. I only had one glass of wine.
“We were supposed to go to a political event, and he said he needed to get paperwork from his hotel room,” she recalled.
“When I arrived at his hotel room, I was already incapacitated, and I couldn’t move my arms over my body. He raped me, and he choked me. And while he was choking me, I lost consciousness. I thought I died.”
The model sobbed as she claimed he was masquerading as helping her fashion software company take off, but ended up destroying her life and left her “crying all the time.”
Drewes said she will escalate the claims to Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department today with evidence including texts, photographs and journal entries from the time.
It comes after four women last week leveled heinous claims against Swalwell, including one also alleging he raped her, which has set fire to his political career and seen him pull out of the California governor’s race and vow he will resign from Congress.
Lonna Drewes said she thought she was friends with the congressman but claimed he spiked her drink before choking and sexually assaulting her in West Hollywood. REUTERS
Drewes is pictured with Swalwell, which was released by her attorneys at the press conference. Pedro Colo for CA Post“I did not consent to any sexual activity, although I did not undergo a rape kit at the time, I disclosed the assault to the people closest to me,” she said.
The model sobbed as she claimed he was masquerading as helping her fashion software company take off, but ended up destroying her life and left her “crying all the time.” Getty Images“I also recorded these events in my handwritten calendar. The assault and its impact were later documented during my therapy sessions at a sexual assault center in Connecticut.
“It had a profound impact on my mental health. I self-medicated in an unhealthy way. I did not want to live anymore.
“I cried all the time for years. At the time, I was in a dating relationship with a boyfriend I was fully committed to.
She said the shocking alleged attack destroyed her life, leaving her “crying all the time” and said she was now going to cops. Pedro Colo for CA Post“My delay in taking action against Eric was driven by fear, not doubt, fear of his political power, his background as an attorney, and his family law enforcement ties.
“I have never doubted what happened. I stand with the other women who have come forward, and I will be making a report to Law Enforcement shortly with my attorneys.”
Here’s the latest on the allegations against Rep. Eric Swalwell
- Powerhouse attorney reveals alleged Eric Swalwell rape victim is about to drop even more evidence
- Staggering number of booze deliveries Eric Swalwell charged to campaign — including Vegas bender
- Eric Swalwell blew $75K from defunct congressional campaign on booze, hotels and more, filings show
- Bill Maher calls Eric Swalwell a ‘f–king creep,’ says he ‘never liked’ the disgraced Democrat
Bloom took over the microphone after Drewes had aired her claims.
She said: “Lonna deserves what all women deserve, autonomy over her own body, every minute of every hour of every day of her life, her body is hers to control, and no man, no matter his position of power or station in life, ever has the right to make that decision for her.
She said the alleged rape affected her health and that it saddened her to the point that she did not want to live anymore. Instagram/lonnadrewesDrewes claims came hours after another woman came forward to accuse Swalwell of luring her to a hotel room after sending her pervy messages on Snapchat.
Breaking her silence for the first time, Annika Albrecht told CBS News on Tuesday that the married congressmen started interacting with her soon after she met him on a class trip in college.
Swalwell is dealing with a myriad of serious sexual misconduct allegations, including a rape accusation. AFP via Getty ImagesShe claimed Swalwell, who initially started chatting to her under the guise of a professional mentorship, quickly asked for her Snapchat.
Eventually, she alleged, the messages crossed the line to “sexually inappropriate” before he hit her with the hotel invite.
“I keep thinking about how lucky I am that I didn’t go to that hotel,” Albrecht said, adding that she immediately stopped responding to him. “It was very clear what the connotation was.”
Another victim has accused Swalwell of sexually assaulting her in a hotel room in New York City in 2024.
The woman, who has not been publicly identified, claimed she was heavily intoxicated and woke up in her hotel room after a charity gala to find Swalwell assaulting her.
“I was pushing him off of me, saying no,” the woman, who no longer worked at Swalwell’s office at the time of the alleged assault, told CNN. “He didn’t stop.”
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has opened a sex assault probe into the sickening allegation. Albrecht said she had spoken to some of Swalwell’s accusers in recent days.
“It was terrifying to get on the phone with those women and hear their stories about how they were drinking with him and suddenly woke up in bed next to him with no recollection of how they got there,” she said.
Albrecht aired her alleged encounter with Swalwell after he abruptly resigned from Congress on Monday and dropped out of California’s gubernatorial race in the wake of the flurry of sexual assault and rape claims leveled against him.
Despite his fall from grace, Albrecht insisted that justice wouldn’t be served for her “until he can’t ever harm a woman ever again — and he has faced the consequences for the women that he has harmed.”
Swalwell’s decision to resign caps a swift political fall for the seven-term lawmaker.
A flurry of women have come forward in recent days to accuse him of various kinds of sexual misconduct stretching back years — including sending them unsolicited X-rated messages or nude photos on Snapchat.
Her testimony came hours after another woman came forward to accuse Swalwell of luring her to a hotel room after sending her pervy messages on Snapchat. CBS NewsDespite his resignation, The embattled pol vehemently denied the allegations in a video statement.
“I am deeply sorry to my family, staff, and constituents for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past,” he said in a statement on social media.
“I will fight the serious false allegation made against me. However, I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make.”
Swalwell is pictured with his with Brittany, who he married in 2016 and has three children with Getty Images for CORE






