California
Woman says she was raped by Rep. Eric Swalwell in 2018
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California woman on Tuesday said she was raped by Rep. Eric Swalwell in 2018 and now plans to make a report to law enforcement.
Lonna Drewes said during a news conference that the assault occurred at a hotel in Southern California. She said she had one glass of wine that evening and believes Swalwell drugged her before raping her. Swalwell dropped out of the California governor’s race on Sunday and said he would resign from Congress this week following earlier allegations of sexual assault from a different woman.
“I did not consent to any sexual activity,” Drewes said.
Elias Debaie, an attorney for Swalwell, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
The Associated Press typically doesn’t name people who say they’ve been victims of sexual assault unless they identify themselves publicly.
Drewes’ allegation comes a day after Swalwell said he would resign from Congress following other allegations of sexual misconduct, including at least two other alleged incidents of nonconsensual sex. Other women have accused him of sending them inappropriate messages and nude photos. Swalwell denied the prior accusations of sexual assault but said he had made unspecified errors in judgment.
Drewes said she did not undergo a rape kit but disclosed the alleged assault to people close to her and documented it in her journal. She said she discussed the alleged rape during therapy sessions at a sexual assault center in Connecticut.
Attorney Lisa Bloom said those journal entries, along with text messages and photographs, will be included in the forthcoming report to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Drewes said she was working as a model and owned a fashion software company based in Beverly Hills when she met Swalwell. He offered to help her with connections to further her company and knew she had an interest in local politics.
She had met him twice before the night when she says he raped her. That night, the two met at a restaurant opening and were set to attend a political event, she said. On their way to the event, Drewes said Swalwell wanted to stop back at his hotel room to get some paperwork. By the time they reached the room, she said her limbs felt heavy and she felt like she had been drugged.
Swalwell raped her and later choked her, causing her to lose consciousness, she said.
Swalwell’s abrupt downfall followed allegations published in the San Francisco Chronicle and later by CNN. He remained defiant, saying, “I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made — but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s.”
Michigan
Sherrone Moore gets probation for misdemeanors that followed firing
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Former Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore was placed on probation Tuesday for 18 months for a confrontation with his executive assistant soon after he was fired for having an inappropriate relationship with her.
Moore was facing a possible sentence of up to six months in jail after pleading no contest to trespassing and malicious use of a telecom device. But Judge J. Cedric Simpson ordered no time in custody.
A felony charge of home invasion, as well as stalking and illegal entry misdemeanors, were dropped.
Moore, 40, was fired on Dec. 10 after leading the Wolverines for two seasons, following Jim Harbaugh’s move to the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers. It was a stunning dismissal at one of college football’s most prestigious programs.
Moore was accused that same day of confronting the woman with whom he had been having an affair and blaming her for his firing, even threatening to kill himself with butter knives in her apartment. Authorities said the woman had ended the affair and spoken to school officials about it.
Moore was charged with felony home invasion and two additional charges. But Washtenaw County prosecutors agreed to a deal in which he pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors. The felony charge was dropped.
The agreement came after defense lawyer Ellen Michaels planned to aggressively challenge how police gathered information to get an arrest warrant.
Moore did not harm himself and was peacefully arrested in a parking lot away from the woman’s apartment.
Washington
Appeals court orders judge to end contempt investigation of deportation flights
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge must end his “intrusive” contempt investigation of the Trump administration for failing to comply with an order over flights carrying Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador last year, a divided appeals court panel ruled Tuesday.
Chief Judge James Boasberg abused his discretion in forging ahead with criminal contempt proceedings stemming from the March 2025 deportation flights, according to the majority opinion by a three-judge panel from U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
The ruling is the latest twist in a yearlong legal saga that has became a flashpoint in President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign. The White House has portrayed Boasberg as a biased judge who overstepped his authority.
Trump’s administration has a “clear and indisputable” right to the termination of the contempt proceedings, Circuit Judge Neomi Rao wrote in the court’s majority opinion.
“The legal error at the heart of these criminal contempt proceedings demonstrates why further investigation by the district court is an abuse of discretion,” Rao wrote. “Criminal contempt is available only for the violation of an order that is clear and specific. (Boasberg’s March 2025 order) did not clearly and specifically bar the government from transferring plaintiffs into Salvadoran custody.”
Lawyers for the deported migrants will ask the full circuit court to review the panel’s decision, according to plaintiffs’ attorney Lee Gelernt of the American Civil Liberties Union. Gelernt said the majority opinion is “a blow to the rule of law.”
“Our system is built on the executive branch, including the president, respecting court orders. In this case there is no longer any question that the Trump administration willfully violated the court’s order,” Gelernt said in a statement.
Rao was nominated by Trump, a Republican. Boasberg, chief judge of the district court in Washington, D.C., was nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama.
On March 15, 2025, Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order barring the administration from transferring a group of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador under an 18th century law. After the order was entered, two planeloads of migrants protected by the order departed from the U.S. on their way to El Salvador, where they were locked up in one of the world’s most violent prisons. The administration said then- Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was responsible for the transfer decision.
Boasberg has said the Trump administration may have acted in bad faith by trying to rush Venezuelan migrants out of the country in defiance of his order. He said he gave the administration “ample opportunity to rectify or explain their actions” but concluded that “none of their responses has been satisfactory.”
Last year, the Justice Department filed a misconduct complaint accusing Boasberg of making improper public comments about Trump and his administration. Trump has called for impeaching Boasberg. In a rare rebuke, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts publicly rejected calls for Boasberg’s impeachment.
The case is assigned to Rao and Circuit Judges Justin Walker and J. Michelle Childs. Walker, also a Trump nominee, wrote a separate opinion concurring with Rao’s. Childs, who was nominated by Democratic President Joe Biden, dissented from the majority.
Childs said the court’s majority has trampled on Boasberg’s authority “in a way that will affect not only these contempt proceedings but will also echo in future proceedings against all litigants.”
“Now, any litigant can argue, based on their preferred interpretation of a court’s order, that they did not commit contempt before contempt findings are even made,” Childs wrote in her 80-page dissent.
New York
Wife of man who shot lost DoorDash driver admits to deleting doorbell video of the incident
GOSHEN, N.Y. (AP) — The wife of a New York man who was recently convicted of shooting and wounding a lost DoorDash delivery driver has admitted to deleting doorbell camera video of the incident.
Selina Nelson-Reilly, 46, of Chester pleaded guilty Friday to tampering with evidence, according to the local prosecutor’s office. The plea came just weeks after her husband, John Reilly III, was found guilty of assault for firing at the driver’s car as the man was trying to leave their property in May 2025.
Reilly, then the highway superintendent of Chester — located nearly 60 miles (95 kilometers) north of Manhattan — had argued he was defending his family after lost driver Alpha Barry insisted on entering the home. But Barry testified in court that he had just asked to charge his phone. After the shooting, he underwent emergency surgery and had to have part of his small bowels removed, according to prosecutors.
State police investigators went to the home the day after the shooting and spoke with Nelson-Reilly, who denied any knowledge of the incident, according to a statement from the office of Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler. But after the investigators left, she deleted 17 videos from a doorbell camera at the house, the office said.
She later sent a text message to a friend saying she had permanently deleted the videos, prosecutors said.
Some clips from their doorbell camera nevertheless still emerged after the shooting, with one showing the driver walking up to Reilly’s front door with a plastic bag. Another showed the driver apparently back in his car, as Reilly left the home with a handgun and fired a shot into his lawn, saying, “Go.” As the driver made a three-point turn in the driveway, the footage appeared to show Reilly shoot at the car.
Nelson-Reilly’s plea agreement calls for her to be put on probation for one year and complete 200 hours of community service, according to Hoovler’s office. If she does that, she will be allowed to return to court and have a felony count of tampering with physical evidence vacated, while being sentenced on the misdemeanor count of attempted tampering with physical evidence.
If she fails abide by the plea bargain conditions, she could face up to four years in state prison, prosecutors said.
Her husband faces up to 25 years behind bars on the top assault charge when he is scheduled to be sentenced May 18. He remains in custody, and his attorney has said they plan to appeal the conviction.
Nelson-Reilly’s attorney, Andrew Jason Proto, did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment.
Woman says she was raped by Rep. Eric Swalwell in 2018
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California woman on Tuesday said she was raped by Rep. Eric Swalwell in 2018 and now plans to make a report to law enforcement.
Lonna Drewes said during a news conference that the assault occurred at a hotel in Southern California. She said she had one glass of wine that evening and believes Swalwell drugged her before raping her. Swalwell dropped out of the California governor’s race on Sunday and said he would resign from Congress this week following earlier allegations of sexual assault from a different woman.
“I did not consent to any sexual activity,” Drewes said.
Elias Debaie, an attorney for Swalwell, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
The Associated Press typically doesn’t name people who say they’ve been victims of sexual assault unless they identify themselves publicly.
Drewes’ allegation comes a day after Swalwell said he would resign from Congress following other allegations of sexual misconduct, including at least two other alleged incidents of nonconsensual sex. Other women have accused him of sending them inappropriate messages and nude photos. Swalwell denied the prior accusations of sexual assault but said he had made unspecified errors in judgment.
Drewes said she did not undergo a rape kit but disclosed the alleged assault to people close to her and documented it in her journal. She said she discussed the alleged rape during therapy sessions at a sexual assault center in Connecticut.
Attorney Lisa Bloom said those journal entries, along with text messages and photographs, will be included in the forthcoming report to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Drewes said she was working as a model and owned a fashion software company based in Beverly Hills when she met Swalwell. He offered to help her with connections to further her company and knew she had an interest in local politics.
She had met him twice before the night when she says he raped her. That night, the two met at a restaurant opening and were set to attend a political event, she said. On their way to the event, Drewes said Swalwell wanted to stop back at his hotel room to get some paperwork. By the time they reached the room, she said her limbs felt heavy and she felt like she had been drugged.
Swalwell raped her and later choked her, causing her to lose consciousness, she said.
Swalwell’s abrupt downfall followed allegations published in the San Francisco Chronicle and later by CNN. He remained defiant, saying, “I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made — but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s.”
Michigan
Sherrone Moore gets probation for misdemeanors that followed firing
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Former Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore was placed on probation Tuesday for 18 months for a confrontation with his executive assistant soon after he was fired for having an inappropriate relationship with her.
Moore was facing a possible sentence of up to six months in jail after pleading no contest to trespassing and malicious use of a telecom device. But Judge J. Cedric Simpson ordered no time in custody.
A felony charge of home invasion, as well as stalking and illegal entry misdemeanors, were dropped.
Moore, 40, was fired on Dec. 10 after leading the Wolverines for two seasons, following Jim Harbaugh’s move to the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers. It was a stunning dismissal at one of college football’s most prestigious programs.
Moore was accused that same day of confronting the woman with whom he had been having an affair and blaming her for his firing, even threatening to kill himself with butter knives in her apartment. Authorities said the woman had ended the affair and spoken to school officials about it.
Moore was charged with felony home invasion and two additional charges. But Washtenaw County prosecutors agreed to a deal in which he pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors. The felony charge was dropped.
The agreement came after defense lawyer Ellen Michaels planned to aggressively challenge how police gathered information to get an arrest warrant.
Moore did not harm himself and was peacefully arrested in a parking lot away from the woman’s apartment.
Washington
Appeals court orders judge to end contempt investigation of deportation flights
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge must end his “intrusive” contempt investigation of the Trump administration for failing to comply with an order over flights carrying Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador last year, a divided appeals court panel ruled Tuesday.
Chief Judge James Boasberg abused his discretion in forging ahead with criminal contempt proceedings stemming from the March 2025 deportation flights, according to the majority opinion by a three-judge panel from U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
The ruling is the latest twist in a yearlong legal saga that has became a flashpoint in President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign. The White House has portrayed Boasberg as a biased judge who overstepped his authority.
Trump’s administration has a “clear and indisputable” right to the termination of the contempt proceedings, Circuit Judge Neomi Rao wrote in the court’s majority opinion.
“The legal error at the heart of these criminal contempt proceedings demonstrates why further investigation by the district court is an abuse of discretion,” Rao wrote. “Criminal contempt is available only for the violation of an order that is clear and specific. (Boasberg’s March 2025 order) did not clearly and specifically bar the government from transferring plaintiffs into Salvadoran custody.”
Lawyers for the deported migrants will ask the full circuit court to review the panel’s decision, according to plaintiffs’ attorney Lee Gelernt of the American Civil Liberties Union. Gelernt said the majority opinion is “a blow to the rule of law.”
“Our system is built on the executive branch, including the president, respecting court orders. In this case there is no longer any question that the Trump administration willfully violated the court’s order,” Gelernt said in a statement.
Rao was nominated by Trump, a Republican. Boasberg, chief judge of the district court in Washington, D.C., was nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama.
On March 15, 2025, Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order barring the administration from transferring a group of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador under an 18th century law. After the order was entered, two planeloads of migrants protected by the order departed from the U.S. on their way to El Salvador, where they were locked up in one of the world’s most violent prisons. The administration said then- Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was responsible for the transfer decision.
Boasberg has said the Trump administration may have acted in bad faith by trying to rush Venezuelan migrants out of the country in defiance of his order. He said he gave the administration “ample opportunity to rectify or explain their actions” but concluded that “none of their responses has been satisfactory.”
Last year, the Justice Department filed a misconduct complaint accusing Boasberg of making improper public comments about Trump and his administration. Trump has called for impeaching Boasberg. In a rare rebuke, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts publicly rejected calls for Boasberg’s impeachment.
The case is assigned to Rao and Circuit Judges Justin Walker and J. Michelle Childs. Walker, also a Trump nominee, wrote a separate opinion concurring with Rao’s. Childs, who was nominated by Democratic President Joe Biden, dissented from the majority.
Childs said the court’s majority has trampled on Boasberg’s authority “in a way that will affect not only these contempt proceedings but will also echo in future proceedings against all litigants.”
“Now, any litigant can argue, based on their preferred interpretation of a court’s order, that they did not commit contempt before contempt findings are even made,” Childs wrote in her 80-page dissent.
New York
Wife of man who shot lost DoorDash driver admits to deleting doorbell video of the incident
GOSHEN, N.Y. (AP) — The wife of a New York man who was recently convicted of shooting and wounding a lost DoorDash delivery driver has admitted to deleting doorbell camera video of the incident.
Selina Nelson-Reilly, 46, of Chester pleaded guilty Friday to tampering with evidence, according to the local prosecutor’s office. The plea came just weeks after her husband, John Reilly III, was found guilty of assault for firing at the driver’s car as the man was trying to leave their property in May 2025.
Reilly, then the highway superintendent of Chester — located nearly 60 miles (95 kilometers) north of Manhattan — had argued he was defending his family after lost driver Alpha Barry insisted on entering the home. But Barry testified in court that he had just asked to charge his phone. After the shooting, he underwent emergency surgery and had to have part of his small bowels removed, according to prosecutors.
State police investigators went to the home the day after the shooting and spoke with Nelson-Reilly, who denied any knowledge of the incident, according to a statement from the office of Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler. But after the investigators left, she deleted 17 videos from a doorbell camera at the house, the office said.
She later sent a text message to a friend saying she had permanently deleted the videos, prosecutors said.
Some clips from their doorbell camera nevertheless still emerged after the shooting, with one showing the driver walking up to Reilly’s front door with a plastic bag. Another showed the driver apparently back in his car, as Reilly left the home with a handgun and fired a shot into his lawn, saying, “Go.” As the driver made a three-point turn in the driveway, the footage appeared to show Reilly shoot at the car.
Nelson-Reilly’s plea agreement calls for her to be put on probation for one year and complete 200 hours of community service, according to Hoovler’s office. If she does that, she will be allowed to return to court and have a felony count of tampering with physical evidence vacated, while being sentenced on the misdemeanor count of attempted tampering with physical evidence.
If she fails abide by the plea bargain conditions, she could face up to four years in state prison, prosecutors said.
Her husband faces up to 25 years behind bars on the top assault charge when he is scheduled to be sentenced May 18. He remains in custody, and his attorney has said they plan to appeal the conviction.
Nelson-Reilly’s attorney, Andrew Jason Proto, did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment.
