Tipsheet

Did You Notice How Eric Swalwell Is Justifying the LA Riots?

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  June 09, 2025 1:00 PM

From Mayor Karen Bass, to Gov. Gavin Newsom, and former Vice President Kamala Harris, California Democrats have had a consistently terrible reaction to the Los Angeles riots. It's also worth including Rep. Eric Swalwell, though, who represents California's 14th Congressional District. As he slams President Donald Trump and his administration, as well as encourages the protests to continue, Swalwell is doing so while pushing a false narrative.

On Sunday afternoon, Swalwell offered an explanation as to why people were "protesting immigration raids." As Swalwell claimed, it's because "Trump deported a child citizen with cancer." 

The post has so far brought in over 5,500 replies and may be hit with context from Community Notes. The incident Swalwell is speaking about is old news, from April, with such riots taking place over a month later, in June.

Such a post comes after Swalwell also made such a claim in a quoted repost of Vice President JD Vance on Sunday, as the vice president raised the idea that the riots over the weekend amounted to an "invasion."

As Secretary of State Marco Rubio has explained, the child with cancer, who is a citizen thanks to birthright citizenship, was taken back to the mother's home country at the direction of the mother, here illegally from Honduras. 

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"Their mothers, who were here illegally in this country were deported. The children went with their mothers! Those children are U.S. citizens. They can come back into the United States if there's--their father or someone here, whoever wants to assume them. But ultimately, who was deported was their mother--their mothers who were here illegally. The children just went with their mothers," Rubio shared in April while on NBC News' "Meet the Press." He went on to emphasize that media reports, which Swalwell is now still parroting months later, were "misleading."

Rubio also corrected moderator Kristen Welker on how it's not a matter of deporting children who are citizens "without due process," but that the mother had the option of bringing her children with her. Had the Trump administration kept the child away from his or her mother, Rubio pointed out, the media would be going after the administration for "holding hostage" children while the mother was deported back to her home country. "So the mother--the parents--make that choice," Rubio stressed. "That's up to their family to decide where the children go. Children go with their parents. Parents decide where their children go. The U.S. deported their mothers, who were illegally in America."

Swalwell has continued to post such falsehoods, though, lamenting on Monday morning how "Trump continues to detain/deport innocent American citizens," as he once more shared the story addressed by Rubio over a month ago.

"Until this stops, stay LOUD," Swalwell continued in his post. "Be peaceful. But be present."

The riots have not exactly been peaceful, as even the LAPD chief has finally acknowledged. The chaos, full of not only pro-illegal immigration and anti-ICE protests, but also foreign flags and pro-terrorist chants, has necessitated Trump sending in the National Guard. Newsom, has part of his shameful response, has repeatedly said he will sue Trump for his actions to restore order, and has even dared Tom Homan to arrest him. 

It's not children with cancer, though, who are the face of those being deported. As Fox News' Bill Melugin has highlighted, there's criminal illegal immigrants being detained who have been accused of some particularly heinous crimes.