Eric Swalwell was as soon as hailed as “the Snapchat king of Congress” for his prolific use of the app with disappearing messages.
Mr. Swalwell had developed a fame as a digital native, an individual who appeared to have a deep understanding of how one can harness the facility of social media.
In the long run, social media would additionally play a vital function in his undoing.
It was on social media the place early whispers of sexual misconduct accusations towards Mr. Swalwell swirled after he entered the California governor’s race final yr. After listening to related chatter and allegations immediately from ladies, two Democratic influencers constructed a community utilizing a few of the identical platforms that his accusers stated he had used to attach with them.
Cheyenne Hunt, one of many influencers, stated she related a few of the accusers with each other. She additionally advised the previous aide who finally alleged in information experiences that Mr. Swalwell had sexually assaulted her in a New York resort that different ladies have been making ready to come back ahead. The content material creators later used social media to gather tales from the ladies and generate curiosity on-line.
On April 10, The San Francisco Chronicle and CNN printed the detailed accounts that in the end ended Mr. Swalwell’s political profession after interviewing the accusers for weeks and dealing to attempt to confirm their allegations.
Mr. Swalwell has denied he dedicated any sexual misconduct.
The Influencer Community
Mr. Swalwell entered the governor’s race in November, hoping to capitalize on his nationwide picture as a Democratic assault canine and his capacity to succeed in voters on social media. He invited a number of influencers to a kickoff assembly on Zoom final yr, recognizing their energy within the trendy period.
Among the many content material creators Mr. Swalwell gained over was Arielle Fodor, recognized on-line as “Mrs. Frazzled.” Ms. Fodor, a former instructor who posts about Democratic politics, promoted Mr. Swalwell to her viewers, hailing him as “a politician who acts like a standard human and never a robotic.”
Virtually instantly, Ms. Fodor obtained a number of personal messages warning her to keep away from him, she stated in an interview. She stated she needed to search out out extra.
She heard rumors of sexual misconduct as she started inquiring amongst Capitol Hill staffers, political acquaintances and a member of Congress, whom she declined to call.
For months thereafter, the chatter lingered however largely went nowhere. Mr. Swalwell, in the meantime, was gathering endorsements in California and assuaging the fears of potential backers by emphasizing that there had been no information experiences with allegations.
Ultimately, on the finish of March, Ms. Fodor determined to publish on Threads about Mr. Swalwell. Behind the scenes, a prime Swalwell aide, Yardena Wolf, messaged Ms. Fodor and blamed a vengeful ally of an opposing candidate for the rumors, Ms. Fodor stated.
Different individuals have been watching, too.
Annika Albrecht noticed the posts and reached out to Ms. Hunt, a good friend of hers, to explain her personal expertise with Mr. Swalwell.
Ms. Albrecht stated she had met Mr. Swalwell on a visit to Washington as a university pupil in 2019. Later, on Snapchat, he invited her to satisfy him at a resort. She didn’t oblige. Sara Azari, a lawyer for Mr. Swalwell, disputed Ms. Albrecht’s account and stated her story was uncorroborated.
Ms. Fodor stated she heard that Ms. Hunt was planning to publish about Mr. Swalwell, too, and reached out to her in an Instagram direct message in March. Although they’d by no means met, the 2 ladies, with Ms. Albrecht, started bringing collectively different ladies and directing them to a lawyer and, lastly, to reporters at CNN, they stated.
In a press release, the community stated, “CNN at all times maintains its editorial independence whereas acquiring info from a mess of sources via a rigorous editorial course of.”
On the identical time, reporters at The San Francisco Chronicle were talking to a former Swalwell staffer, who advised them that the congressman had sexually assaulted her, together with at a New York Metropolis resort in 2024. The Chronicle defined afterward that it had independently discovered the lady and gained her belief over a number of weeks, and that it had seemed for witnesses, public information and contemporaneous conversations to attempt to confirm her claims.
The newspaper additionally stated that “the influencers’ posts lent urgency to our efforts,” spurring them to research and phone the influencers themselves.
The parasocial relationships influencers domesticate with their followers might have helped some ladies really feel comfy with contacting Ms. Hunt and Ms. Fodor earlier than going to a media outlet.
“Content material creators construct their platforms on being so accessible,” stated Jessica Maddox, an affiliate professor on the College of Georgia who researches social media. “That accessibility makes individuals assume they’re nearer to them than they really are, or, even, that in the event that they reached out, they could possibly be heard.”
The Accusers and the Influencers
One of many ladies who spoke to CNN was a girl in her late 20s who stated she ended up in a resort room with him throughout an evening of drinks in March 2025. She was additionally speaking to Ms. Hunt earlier than the article went public.
The girl, talking anonymously for worry of retribution, advised The New York Occasions that she first related with Mr. Swalwell on Instagram firstly of final yr. The 2 mentioned politics and, later, Mr. Swalwell requested her to textual content him. She offered screenshots of the messages to The Occasions.
In March 2025, he requested her to satisfy up whereas he was visiting her metropolis. An aspiring legislation pupil, she thought Mr. Swalwell could possibly be a superb skilled connection. Over the course of the evening, she stated, Mr. Swalwell ordered her a number of drinks. Later, Mr. Swalwell touched her and kissed her, she stated. She pulled away and he turned defensive.
She doesn’t bear in mind components of that night, however stated she recalled ending up in Mr. Swalwell’s resort room and leaving early the subsequent day, a departure captured by an Uber receipt she offered to The Occasions. She later advised her accomplice about what occurred that evening, which her accomplice confirmed in an interview.
The girl stated that she was prepared to speak about her expertise final month after seeing Ms. Hunt’s posts. By way of Ms. Hunt, who related her to a lawyer, she realized that she wouldn’t be alone in bringing forth her allegations.
The evening earlier than the CNN report printed, considered one of Mr. Swalwell’s attorneys had despatched the lady a cease-and-desist letter. Ms. Azari, a lawyer for Mr. Swalwell, stated this week that he and the lady had a consensual interplay and that her statements have been false.
In one other occasion, Ally Sammarco, then 24, was working as a subject organizer for the Democratic Occasion of Virginia in August 2021 when she reached out to Mr. Swalwell on Twitter on a whim. She had talked to Ms. Fodor and CNN earlier than the information experiences have been printed, and gained confidence realizing that different ladies have been able to go public with their allegations.
Over the course of months in 2021, he requested to maneuver their dialog to Snapchat, the place he advised her she was enticing and requested her private questions. Mr. Swalwell additionally despatched images, together with pictures of him laying in mattress with suggestive messages, like “what would you do if I used to be with you,” Ms. Sammarco advised The Occasions in an interview. She offered early messages she exchanged with Mr. Swalwell, however didn’t have the Snapchat conversations, which disappeared way back.
On Snapchat, Ms. Sammarco stated he despatched her an unsolicited picture of his penis. A number of different ladies advised The Occasions that they’d obtained equally specific messages.
Ms. Azari stated that Mr. Swalwell engaged in consensual actions with Ms. Sammarco, and that he “categorically denies any sexual misconduct or nonconsensual contact.” She stated he couldn’t reply to nameless allegations of different messages with out seeing them.
Mr. Swalwell continues to be utilizing Snapchat. As not too long ago as this week, Mr. Swalwell communicated immediately with a former intern on the app and requested her why she had taken a screenshot of their chat historical past, based mostly on pictures offered to The Occasions, although the messages weren’t sexual in nature.
In early April, Ms. Hunt started posting about her conversations with ladies who alleged that they’d been sexually harassed or abused by Mr. Swalwell. She didn’t identify people or describe particular situations, however advised {that a} information report was imminent.
As they started posting in imprecise phrases about what they have been being advised in personal, Ms. Hunt and Ms. Fodor stated they took out umbrella insurance policies to extend their legal responsibility insurance coverage for worry of potential lawsuits. As information shops ready to publish, Ms. Hunt continued teasing a forthcoming information report on social media.
Ms. Hunt stated she acknowledged the grey space that she and Ms. Fodor, who aren’t journalists and thus not certain by the identical skilled moral codes, have been occupying. They felt they might make imprecise insinuations that the majority journalists couldn’t, however they stated additionally they lacked the attain of mainstream information organizations. Ms. Hunt stated they most popular {that a} respected outlet break the story.
“In any other case it was not going to have the meant impact, not for these ladies who needed to stay nameless and whose credibility actually mattered, and never for the final word objective, which was retaining a predator out of energy,” Ms. Hunt stated.
The Chronicle and CNN printed their experiences inside hours of one another on April 10.
Two days after these experiences, Mr. Swalwell suspended his marketing campaign for governor. Two days after that, a mannequin named Lonna Drewes stated in a information convention that Mr. Swalwell had drugged and raped her in a West Hollywood resort in 2018. The Occasions has not confirmed her account. Mr. Swalwell faces an investigation by the Particular Victims Bureau of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Division into her allegations.
He additionally faces an investigation by the Manhattan district legal professional’s workplace into the allegation of sexual assault in a New York resort in 2024.
Mr. Swalwell “categorically and unequivocally denies each allegation of sexual misconduct and assault that has been leveled towards him,” Ms. Azari stated final month.
Julie Tate contributed analysis.
