FBI agents raided former congressman Eric Swalwell's Washington, D.C., home one day after seizing his electronic devices at San Francisco Airport, an escalation of a federal criminal investigation tied to multiple sexual misconduct allegations.

At least half a dozen agents arrived in unmarked vehicles on a Sunday morning at Swalwell's residence in Northeast Washington, some in plainclothes and others wearing FBI-marked shirts. They entered the home and seized what sources described as "undisclosed potential evidence," the Daily Mail reported, publishing exclusive video of the scene. Neither Swalwell nor his wife, Brittany Watts, was home at the time.

The raid came just hours after FBI agents confronted Swalwell at San Francisco Airport on Saturday evening. Armed with a court-approved search warrant, agents served Swalwell at 8:25 p.m. and seized his iPhone, MacBook Pro, charging cable, and wall adapter, the New York Post reported. Swalwell had started his day in Washington before flying to California.

A neighbor who witnessed the D.C. operation described what he saw:

"I woke up and came out here to get some air. There was about eight of them, in two or three cars. There were some coming out of the house and others going back in."

The same neighbor did not hold back about the former congressman. "I could never respect someone like him with all of these accusers," he said. "I just hope for justice."

Four accusers, two alleged rapes, and a federal statute

The Department of Justice opened its investigation into Swalwell in April. At least four women have publicly accused the former Democratic congressman of sexual misconduct, including one former staffer who alleged Swalwell raped her on two occasions, once in 2019 and again in April 2024, when she was too intoxicated to consent, the Washington Examiner reported. Two other women alleged he sent them unsolicited explicit photographs.

The former staffer described the April 2024 incident to CNN. After a night of heavy drinking in New York City, she said she woke up to Swalwell having sex with her in his hotel bed. She had stopped working in his office by that time.

"I was pushing him off of me, saying no. He didn't stop."

Swalwell has denied wrongdoing. He called one accusation "fake" and said he would fight it, but he acknowledged making "mistakes in judgment" and apologized to his wife. Both the FBI and the Department of Justice declined to comment on the raids.

The search warrant used at San Francisco Airport was filed on August 13 under Section 242 of Title 18, a federal statute that prohibits officials, including law enforcement, from abusing their authority to deprive someone of their constitutional rights. How that particular statute applies to Swalwell's case remains unclear, even to legal observers. The San Francisco Standard obtained the warrant. The agents at his D.C. home carried what the Daily Mail described as "additional court-approved search warrants," though filing dates for those warrants have not been disclosed.

Swalwell is not only facing federal scrutiny. The Manhattan District Attorney's Office and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department are both conducting their own investigations. Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg urged "survivors and anyone with knowledge of these allegations to contact our Special Victims Division," National Review reported. Two women who have publicly discussed their allegations told CNN they had also spoken with the FBI.

Swalwell's political collapse preceded the raids

Swalwell resigned from Congress and dropped out of the California governor's race after the first allegation surfaced. The speed of his political unraveling has few recent parallels, though misconduct allegations have derailed other candidates' campaigns in recent months.

His personal life has shown visible strain. In May, the Daily Mail published photographs of Brittany Watts stepping out of the couple's D.C. residence without her wedding ring. A family friend spoke bluntly about the situation at the time.

"Eric has been accused of horrible things. How do you live with that?"

Swalwell and Watts met in 2015, introduced by mutual friends. They have been married approximately nine years and have three children. Watts is 41.

Declassified Fang Fang files add a second front

Days before the FBI raids, the White House Transparency Task Force released declassified records about Swalwell's past relationship with Christine Fang, a Chinese national known by the aliases "Fang Fang" and "Rusty Thumbs." The documents, released on Monday under the title "Rusty Thumbs," revealed that Swalwell told the FBI he "occasionally hooked up" with Fang, a statement that Breitbart noted contradicted his previous public silence on the nature of the relationship.

Fang spent years cultivating ties with rising California Democrats. She helped bundle donations for Swalwell's 2014 re-election campaign and placed an intern in his congressional office. Swalwell has not been accused by law enforcement of any wrongdoing in connection with the Fang Fang matter, but the declassified files have deepened the political damage at a moment when federal agents are already combing through his devices and his home.

The pattern of corruption and misconduct allegations engulfing California political figures has become difficult to ignore. Swalwell's case now sits at the intersection of a criminal sexual misconduct investigation, a foreign-influence scandal, and overlapping state and federal probes, a convergence that would be remarkable for any former officeholder.

Multiple agencies, no answers yet

The federal investigation, the Manhattan DA's probe, and the LA County Sheriff's inquiry are all proceeding simultaneously. What specific evidence the FBI collected from Swalwell's D.C. home beyond the "undisclosed potential evidence" description has not been made public. Which of the at least four accusers' allegations form the core of the federal case remains unclear.

Swalwell was described as cooperative during the airport search, though the Daily Mail reported reaching out to him for comment without noting a response. His legal exposure stretches across multiple jurisdictions and involves both federal and local law enforcement, a level of scrutiny that recalls other recent cases where federal officials faced formal misconduct proceedings.

The facts are still emerging, and no charges have been filed. But when FBI agents show up at a former congressman's front door with search warrants, and then come back the next day at his home across the country, the investigation has moved well past the preliminary stage.

Swalwell spent years on the House Intelligence Committee lecturing the country about accountability. Now accountability has come looking for him, and it brought a warrant.