Federal agents arrested Virginia Democrat powerbroker Louise Lucas in a “large-scale” racketeering and money laundering conspiracy tied to a cannabis business she co-owns.
Lucas, a state senator and one of the most powerful figures in Virginia’s Democratic Party, surrendered to authorities Thursday, according to the Justice Department. The 82-year-old was indicted on five counts: racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana, conspiracy to launder money, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and maintaining a drug-involved premises.
Six others, including Lucas’ daughters and grandson, were also charged and arrested in connection with the alleged scheme.
“The Department of Justice intends to prove that Senator Lucas violated the trust of the people of Portsmouth and Chesapeake, Virginia, and of her state Senate colleagues,” U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said at a press conference Thursday morning. “Through her elected office, Senator Lucas has been a public servant of the people of Virginia. Her first duty should have been looking out for her constituents before herself. But the charges listed in the indictment reflect the alleged behavior of a public servant who put her own financial interests before the people she was elected to serve.”
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FBI Director Kash Patel said Lucas “accumulated nearly $5 million in ill-gotten gains through her criminal enterprise.”
In a social media statement, Lucas said: “The full weight of the federal government has been wielded against an 82-year-old grandmother.”
“I grew up under Jim Crow. I’ve seen what happens when people in power try to silence those who stand up to them,” Lucas said, without denying the merit of the charges. “I spent my life fighting back, and I’m not stopping now.”
“I will not be intimidated. I will not be bullied. And I will not back down,” she added.
In May, the FBI raided an office and a cannabis dispensary linked to Lucas as part of the public corruption investigation, The Daily Wire previously reported.
The probe into Lucas, who represents the city of Portsmouth, was launched during former President Joe Biden’s administration.
Lucas, president pro tempore of the Virginia Senate, played a prominent role in her party’s failed efforts to redraw Virginia’s congressional map to give Democrats a significant midterm advantage. She has also repeatedly criticized newly elected Virginia Democrat Governor Abigail Spanberger, accusing her of having a “credibility problem.”
The top Democrat also threw her support behind Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones, who was caught fantasizing about murdering Republicans. In the weeks leading up to the election, Virginia Democrats insisted they condemned political violence and argued that Jones was remorseful for expressing a desire to shoot a Republican. But just hours after their election victories, their tune appeared to change.
Lucas suggested her issue with the controversy was less about Jones’ violent remarks than about the fact that Virginians learned of them in the first place, thanks to a “snitch,” The Daily Wire reported.
“Virginia is for lovers, not snitches,” she posted on social media, alongside an AI-generated video showing Jones kicking his opponent, Jason Miyares, who was depicted as a dog.
Thursday’s announcement is not Lucas’ first brush with the law. In 2020, she was charged with felony conspiracy and damaging a monument valued at more than $1,000 following a protest during which a Confederate monument was vandalized. A judge later dismissed the charges.
This is a developing story. Stay with The Daily Wire for updates.
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