Graphic erotic poetry written by Democratic California gubernatorial candidate Rep. Eric Swalwell resurfaced this week, along with his past advocacy for pardoning two criminals convicted of killing law enforcement officers.
Swalwell, who announced his run for governor on late night TV, was born in Iowa and primarily raised in the San Francisco Bay Area with three younger brothers. He attended Campbell University in North Carolina starting in 1999, where he majored in government and politics and contributed to the student newspaper.
During his time at Campbell, Swalwell wrote several opinion pieces and a column for the campus literary magazine “The Lyricist,” as photos obtained by the Daily Mail show.
One piece, a raunchy poem titled “Hungover From Burgundy,” depicts two lovers chasing each other, with blood coming into play as they kiss. The magazine described Swalwell at the time as an “active member of the Campbell University student body,” a writer for the Campbell Times and someone completing his third screenplay.
“And there beauty was, formless and magnificent— A flurry of limbs and nails. She chased and I ran, I chased and She ran. Atop my hotel she stopped And I lept for cloth and tan, My anxious arm she bit— my scar is beautiful. While I screamed, She bent her lips to mine. Kissing till veins imploded and exploded, Till blood rolled down our chins, For bounded mouths cannot speak of parting,” Swalwell wrote.
“In the morning, I awoke besides beauty’s shadow— Her form sloppy and her legs pale. My scar lost, My lips cracked and dry. And we groaned simultaneously,” Swalwell concluded.
While reportedly writing for the Campbell Times under the nickname “The Radically Poetic,” Swalwell used an opinion piece to urge Americans to “wake up” and research the stories of former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal and Leonard Peltier. Both had been convicted of killing law enforcement officers and were serving long prison sentences at the time.
“America, it’s time to wake up. I encourage everyone to research for themselves the stories of these prisoners and others who, at the very least, deserve a fair trial,” Swalwell wrote, according to a picture obtained by the Daily Mail. “Free Peltier. Free Abu-Jamal. Free all political prisoners. We cannot wait for another movie.”
In 1982, Abu-Jamal was convicted of first-degree murder in the 1981 fatal shooting of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. Abu-Jamal has long maintained his innocence, with supporters arguing the trial was unfair.
Just prior to Abu-Jamal’s conviction, Peltier was convicted in 1977 of the 1975 murders of two FBI agents, Jack Coler and Ronald Williams, during a shootout on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.
Despite Swalwell’s past advocacy and defense of criminals convicted of killing law enforcement, the representative has regularly touted his father’s work in local law enforcement throughout his political career.
During his failed 2020 presidential run, Swalwell regularly described his upbringing in a “law enforcement household,” and being raised by a cop father who taught him service and sacrifice. The California Police Chiefs Association additionally endorsed Swalwell in January, which the Democrat said he was honored to receive.
“As the son of a police chief, brother to two cops, and a former prosecutor, I know keeping communities safe takes trust, accountability, and real partnership,” Swalwell wrote in a statement about the endorsement.
Swalwell’s campaign office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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