Rep. Eric Swalwell, a California Democratic back-bencher not known to be particularly bright or effective, got some well-deserved verbal smackdown over the weekend after an accusation he made against Republicans following another shooting, this one outside a church in his state.
Reports noted that shots were fired at the Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods on Sunday after which Swalwell quickly concluded the shooter’s motivation had to be something related to the GOP.
“Sorry @housegop that the parishioners hog-tied your boy,” tweeted Swalwell, adding a hashtag for “Sorry, not sorry,” as well as a link to the story documenting how parishioners hog-tied the suspect.
Sorry @housegop that the parishioners hog-tied your boy. #SorryNotSorry https://t.co/y71ywlLn6N
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) May 16, 2022
On Monday, police said that they believed the suspect opened fire at the church over animosity for the Taiwanese people and called it a “politically motivated hate incident.”
They identified the assailant as David Chou, 68, who is an immigrant from China and has lived in multiple places in the U.S. before he ended up in Las Vegas. A court set his bail at $1 million.
Critics of Swalwell blasted the Democrat for rushing to blame Republicans without any evidence to prove his allegation.
“The shooter was from mainland China… targeting Taiwanese-American Christians. Sounds like he may have been more your boy, Congressman,” read one popular response.
The shooter was from mainland China… targeting Taiwanese-American Christians. Sounds like he may have been more your boy, Congressman. https://t.co/oJtOUyZ4ui
— Will Upton (@wupton) May 16, 2022
“I’m beginning to think you’re just an all around horrible human being who needs to reevaluate his entire life,” responded commentator Justin Haskins.
I’m beginning to think you’re just an all around horrible human being who needs to reevaluate his entire life.
— Justin T. Haskins (@JustinTHaskins) May 16, 2022
“A representative is openly celebrating the death of an innocent person,” read another tweet. “Miserable POS.”
“You are an awful, awful human being,” read another response.
“This guy might not be the dumbest member of Congress, but it’s likely,” replied another detractor.
Others made jokes referencing Swalwell’s previous relationship with a woman that was later revealed to be a Chinese spy.
According to reports, one man was killed while four others were wounded in the Sunday shooting. Local police sang the praises of Pastor Billy Chang, who heroically fought back against the gunman and in doing so likely prevented many more deaths or casualties.
In regards to that Chinese spy, The Blaze added:
The suspected foreign agent, Christine Fang, “targeted up-and-coming local politicians in the Bay Area and across the country who had the potential to make it big on the national stage” as part of a years-long operation run by China’s main civilian spy agency between 2011 and 2015, Axios reported…
She first came into contact with Swalwell and other up-and-coming politicos through her role as the head of two different student groups at California State University East Bay, where she enrolled in 2011. Using her position in the groups, Fang gained access to political events and fundraisers for several prominent Democrats in the area, including Democratic California Reps. Swalwell, Ro Khanna, Judy Chu, and former Rep. Mike Honda.
Fang became closest with Swalwell, Axios reported, and by 2014, had “developed close ties” with his congressional office. She worked as a “bundler” for him and other local candidates, helping him connect with big donors and deepening his ties with target communities, and even successfully planted an intern in his office.
Then in 2015, “amid a widening counterintelligence probe, federal investigators became so alarmed by Fang’s behavior and activities that … they alerted Swalwell to their concerns — giving him what is known as a defensive briefing,” the report noted further.
“Swalwell immediately cut off all ties to Fang, according to a current U.S. intelligence official, and he has not been accused of any wrongdoing,” the report said.
