New footage from San Francisco International Airport shows FBI agents surrounding former congressman Eric Swalwell after he stepped off a plane on Aug. 15.
The California Post obtained the surveillance tape, the first public look at a stop that had only been described in warrant papers until now.
Swalwell can be seen in a hat, black sweatshirt, and sneakers, pulling a roll bag and wearing a backpack while travelers walk past the gate. Agents talk to him there, then walk him up an escalator and into a hallway marked “restricted area.”
The hoodie-and-hat look is not subtle. The disgraced Democrat appears to be attempting to go incognito through the airport when he is swarmed by six individuals. This couldn't have happened to a less likable person.
🔥 WOW! New footage shows the exact moment ex-Rep. Eric Swalwell got SWARMED by FBI agents at the airport, so they could seize his devices after getting off the plane — California Post
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) September 1, 2026
After this, they stormed his house to take more electronics
FAFO, SWALWELL!
Time to lock… pic.twitter.com/iUeXdLY8Db
Embedded tweet continues:
... the scum up!
Court records indicate agents served a search warrant and took a white iPhone, its charger, and a MacBook Pro. The warrant, as RedState's Teri Christoph reported, was issued under 18 U.S.C. § 242, a federal civil-rights statute often used against law-enforcement officers accused of abusing their authority.
An FBI agent assigned to the bureau's Public Corruption and Civil Rights Squad in San Francisco certified the warrant.
Swalwell was allowed to leave after the search, but his problems didn't end there.
The next morning, agents searched his Washington home and took more material as part of a federal inquiry reportedly tied to multiple sexual-assault allegations. The former lawmaker has denied the allegations.
Multiple women, including a congressional staffer and at least three others, came forward earlier this year with sexual misconduct and assault allegations against Swalwell. The claims included unwanted sexual advances and unsolicited explicit messages, some of which allegedly involved nude photos.
Two of the alleged assaults reportedly involved the former staffer while she was heavily intoxicated and unable to give consent. Swalwell denies the accusations, but if that account is proven, it would appear to meet the definition of rape.
Authorities in New York and California are also examining related claims.
Scoop >> we obtained the San Francisco airport search warrant against former Rep. Eric Swalwell.
— Gabriel Lorenzo Greschler (@ggreschler) August 20, 2026
The federal statute investigators are pursuing --- 18 U.S.C. § 242 --- is a curious one, one fmr fed prosecutor told ushttps://t.co/cRSjId0fW4
Swalwell resigned from Congress and quit the California governor’s race in April as the accusations piled up.
But, as Christoph notes, this might run a little deeper.
"Between the involvement of the FBI's Public Corruption and Civil Rights Squad and the statute that's cited in the warrant, this may turn out to be about more than just the sexual misconduct allegations," she wrote.
In addition to the very considerable legal ramifications he now faces in these sexual assault probes, Swalwell has also been wrapped up in an escalation of developments in his scandal involving a Chinese spy.
Newly declassified FBI files reveal that the disgraced lawmaker admitted to having a sexual relationship with Christine “Fang Fang,” a suspected CCP (Chinese Communist Party) intelligence operative, on multiple occasions.
BREAKING: Newly declassified @FBI files show @ericswalwell admitted a sexual relationship with Christine Fang, aka "Fang Fang," and that the bureau attempted to recruit Fang Fang without her knowledge. pic.twitter.com/3E19g1jBtX
— James Rosen (@JamesRosenTV) August 17, 2026
Those files also allege Fang steered straw-donor money toward Swalwell and helped place interns in his office — all while he sat on the House Intelligence Committee.
He now faces significant legal peril on what appears to be multiple fronts. RedState will update readers as new events regarding Swalwell's troubles warrant.
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