Man Claiming to Be Gay Violently Threatens Rep. Eric Swalwell

U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat and major LGBTQ+ ally, has received a violent threat from someone claiming to be a gay man.

"A staffer of mine -- who's 1 month into her job -- received a call from a man saying he's coming to our office w/ an assault rifle to kill me," Swalwell tweeted Tuesday. "I hesitate to share this but how else do I tell you we are in violent times, & the architects are Trump & McCarthy. Bloodshed is coming." He was referring to the former president and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

He shared a memo on the threat. The caller asked for Swalwell's whereabouts and "went on a rant regarding gay issues," the memo reads. "Said he is a gay man, but he doesn't take it up the ass he gives it. Used the F slur several times. Mentioned he has guns and wants to 'F*ck him up.' Also made a statement saying he will come to the office, or to wherever he is to hurt him. He will bring guns (AR-15s) to kill him and f*ck him up." The man gave his name, and the staffer got his phone number and a recording of him.

Several commenters on the Twitter thread expressed wishes for Swalwell's safety and said they hoped he'd notified law enforcement.

McCarthy and other Republicans were quick to condemn the FBI's search of Trump's Florida home, Mar-a-Lago, and have not joined in the work of the House committee investigating the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Violent threats from right-wing extremists against the federal government have stepped up on social media since the Mar-a-Lago search, which yielded hundreds of pages of government documents, many of them highly classified, which Trump had kept since leaving office. Trump supporters have termed the search an abuse of the FBI's power. McCarthy has promised to investigate the Department of Justice, of which the FBI is part, if Republicans win a majority in the U.S. House in November's election.

Swalwell has received threats previously. In June, he tweeted a phone message from someone who threatened to kill his three children.