Annika Albrecht, a young woman who claims that disgraced Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) attempted to entice her to a hotel room after sending her inappropriate messages on Snapchat, said that she frequently reflects on how she narrowly escaped a dangerous situation. According to her, the near miss left her profoundly unsettled.
Breaking her silence for the first time, Albrecht shared with CBS News on Tuesday that the married congressman began communicating with her shortly after they met during a college class trip.
She alleged that Swalwell, who initially approached her under the pretense of offering professional mentorship, swiftly sought her Snapchat information.
She claimed that the messages became “sexually inappropriate” before he extended the invitation to the hotel. “I keep thinking about how lucky I am that I didn’t go to that hotel,” Albrecht remarked, noting that she promptly ceased all communication with him.
“It was very clear what the connotation was.”
Albrecht speaks to other victims
Albrecht also mentioned that she had conversed with several of Swalwell’s accusers in the past few 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.
Allegations against Eric Swalwell
Another woman has alleged that Swalwell sexually assaulted her in a hotel room located in New York City in 2024.
The woman, whose identity remains undisclosed, asserted that she was heavily intoxicated and awoke in her hotel room following a charity gala. She later discovered that Swalwell assaulted her.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has launched a probe into the disturbing allegation of sexual assault.
Eric Swalwell steps down
Albrecht disclosed her alleged interaction with Swalwell following his sudden resignation from Congress on Monday and his withdrawal from the gubernatorial race in California, which occurred amidst a surge of sexual assault and rape allegations made against him.
Regardless of his decline in reputation, Albrecht maintained that justice would not be achieved 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, who has denied all the allegations, said in a social media statement, “I will fight the serious false allegation made against me. However, I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make.”
