A prominent Democratic activist and attorney says she is working with multiple women preparing to level sexual harassment allegations against California Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, a leading contender to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom.
According to the Daily Caller, Cheyenne Hunt a lawyer, former congressional candidate and executive director of the left-wing group Gen-Z for Change disclosed in a series of early-morning posts on X that she has been assisting an undisclosed number of women who intend to accuse Swalwell of misconduct. The congressman, a longtime media favorite on the left and a fixture of the Trump impeachment era, is currently one of the top Democrats vying for the governors mansion in a crowded primary field.
I got involved because the first victim who approached me is a close friend, but when I saw that there were others whos experiences fit the same pattern of manipulation and abuse of power, I knew I couldnt stay silent, Hunt wrote in her X thread. She said the allegations center on DMs [direct messages] and Snapchat messages and range from uncomfortable comments to potentially criminal conduct.
The activist further alleged that Swalwell has been targeting employees, interns, and fans and that he acted as a mentor just to exploit that power. Such claims, if substantiated, would raise serious questions about abuse of authority by a sitting member of Congress who has built his career attacking Republicans over ethics and character.
Swalwells office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundations request for comment. The silence from the congressmans team stands in contrast to the seriousness of the accusations and the political stakes of a gubernatorial race in a deep-blue state.
Other women needed to know that they were not alone and that someone had their backs if they came forward. After I spoke about my friends experience, many brave women came forward and shared their stories with me, Hunt continued in her X thread. Her description suggests a pattern of alleged behavior that extends beyond a single incident and has prompted multiple women to seek legal and media assistance.
Hunt, who emphasized that Swalwell is married and has three children, said the women preparing to come forward have secured pro bono legal representation and are in the process of sharing information with reporters and ensuring that they are physically and legally safe. That process takes time, she stressed, signaling that public accusations may not surface immediately but are being carefully prepared.
On March 31, Hunt posted a video to Instagram asserting that Swalwell has a known history of being predatory towards women. And while it may be seen as politically expedient to sweep this under the rug, it is the wrong thing to do and we know it, she added in the video, framing the matter as a test of whether Democrats will apply the standards they demand of Republicans.
I worked on the Hill, I know many women who still do and this message that I received yesterday is not unique, Hunt said, suggesting that the culture surrounding powerful Democratic officeholders may be more troubling than party leaders are willing to admit. Against the videos backdrop, she displayed a text message that a woman appears to have sent her stating, You know Eric Swalwell has slept with many of his interns and makes them all sign NDAs [non-disclosure agreements] so they dont speak up, right? And when I was 19 he tried hitting on me and sliding into my DMs.
I am an attorney. I am well aware of the risk I am taking by speaking out publicly and that fact that if I were to lie about a powerful public figure on a platform of my size, I could easily be subject to a defamation lawsuit, Hunt later wrote in her series of posts. By underscoring her legal background, she appeared to be signaling confidence in the credibility of the women she says she is assisting.
Hunt also indicated that Swalwells political operation is monitoring the situation. She wrote that while she knows Swalwells team is aware of my video and the other creators talking about the allegations, she has not yet been served with legal paperwork or received a cease and desist.
Swalwell, who has served in the House since 2013 and has long faced scrutiny over his alleged ties to a Chinese spy, announced his run for California governor on comedian Jimmy Kimmels late-night show in November 2025. An Emerson College poll released March 11 showed him leading the Democratic field with 17% support, underscoring how damaging a full-blown scandal could be for the partys prospects in the nations largest state.
The truth is an absolute defense and they know that, Hunt wrote in her X thread, suggesting that Swalwells camp may be wary of triggering discovery or further publicity through litigation. Having this conversation publicly makes me a liability. But I do not believe in holding republicans to a different standard than we are willing to uphold ourselves. No more predators in power, from either party, period.
Hunt herself is no stranger to Democratic politics, having run in 2024 for Californias 45th congressional district as a Democrat. She finished fourth in the all-party primary with just over 8% of the vote in the Orange County-based seat, and at 26 years old at the time, she would have been the youngest woman ever elected to Congress had she prevailed.
The Democratic attorney now leads Gen-Z for Change, a self-described progressive organization that says it leverages the power of social media, advocacy, and code to drive tangible progressive change. We regularly activate our coalition of hundreds of social media influencers on TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube that reach more than half a billion followers collectively, the groups website states.
We educate our audiences on issues that range from climate to reproductive justice and empower them with ways they can directly be part of the solution, the organization adds, highlighting its role as a digital amplifier for left-wing causes. Hunt did not immediately respond to the DCNFs request for additional comment on her claims about Swalwell.
Hunt is not the only Democrat signaling that serious allegations may soon surface against the California congressman. The Gen Z activists posts were echoed Monday by other figures on the left who urged their followers to brace for damaging revelations.
This is real. Take it seriously. Eric Swallwell [sic] cannot be our nominee, Democratic strategist Bhavik Lathia wrote on X early Monday, saying he had just gotten off the phone with a trusted friend. There is going to be a lot more coming out soon. I cant say more right now, but stay tuned, he added.
And this isnt some partisan witch hunt. These are real Dem women coming forward. A lot of this shit is going to shock yall, Lathia wrote, insisting that the emerging claims are not a Republican operation but a reckoning from within Swalwells own party. As Democrats in California and nationally continue to lecture conservatives about believing women and policing alleged misconduct, the handling of these accusations against one of their own will test whether those standards apply when the accused is a powerful progressive rather than a convenient Republican target.
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