Newly released surveillance video shows former East Bay Congressman Eric Swalwell being approached and escorted through San Francisco International Airport by federal agents.
Airport authorities released the footage in response to a public records request from NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit. The video appears to show federal agents approaching Swalwell and surrounding him near a gate shortly after he arrived at SFO on Aug. 15.
Swalwell is seen wearing a black hoodie sweater and a baseball hat. He appears to cooperate while handing what looks like his cellphone to a female agent. The former congressman is also carrying a backpack and pulling a rolling suitcase as agents escort him through the airport, up an escalator and into a restricted area.
Search warrant details
Court records show that federal agents executed a search warrant at San Francisco International Airport at approximately 8:25 p.m. The property inventory lists a white Apple iPhone, a charging cable and adapter, and an Apple MacBook Pro among the seized items.
The following day, federal agents searched Swalwell’s residence in Washington, D.C. He has not been charged with a crime.
Publicly available warrant records cite a federal civil rights statute, Title 18, Section 242. The law makes it a crime for someone acting under government authority to willfully deprive another person of rights protected by the federal government.
Allegations against Swalwell
Multiple women have accused the former congressman of misconduct, including sexual assault and sending unsolicited explicit messages. Swalwell has denied the allegations, which he described through his attorney as false and politically motivated.
Swalwell resigned from Congress and ended his campaign for California governor in April after the allegations became public. Before his resignation, the House Ethics Committee announced its own investigation while emphasizing that opening an inquiry did not mean a violation had occurred.
The FBI previously declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding the airport encounter. Swalwell and his attorneys have not addressed the incident.
Source: www.nbcbayarea.com
