Norfolk, Virginia — L. Louise Lucas, a powerful Virginia state senator and outspoken Trump critic who played a central role in the state’s redistricting efforts last year, was taken into federal custody Thursday and charged with an alleged bribery and racketeering scheme, the Justice Department said.
According to a 45-page indictment filed in the Eastern District of Virginia, Lucas and six other co-defendants are charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess marijuana, conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering and bribery by distributing large quantities of illegal marijuana under the auspices of his legal medical cannabis business.
A federal grand jury returned the indictment last week. Lucas, 82, surrendered to law enforcement Thursday morning. She faces five of the eight counts included in the indictment and is expected to make her first appearance before a federal magistrate judge Thursday afternoon.
Lucas vowed to fight the accusations in a statement on X.
“Today the FBI, the Department of Justice and the full weight of the federal government were brought to bear on an 82-year-old great-grandmother,” she said. “I grew up under Jim Crow. I saw what happens when those in power try to silence those who stand up to them. I’ve spent my life fighting and I’m not stopping now.”
At a news conference to discuss the charges in Norfolk, Virginia, Attorney General Todd Blanche dismissed concerns about bringing the charges so close to the midterm elections, noting that Lucas was not on the ballot. He said there was “nothing inappropriate” about the timing of the indictment.
The case comes almost six months after the application of the federal law searched Lucas’ office and a store called The Cannabis Outlet that she co-owns in Portsmouth, Virginia. A source close to the investigation told CBS News at the time of the search that the investigation began during the Biden administration.
The accusations
Kendall Warner/The Virginian Pilot/Getty Images 
Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia alleged that since at least 2019, Lucas was at the helm of the scheme and used her political influence in Virginia to enact laws and regulations to benefit her and co-defendants financially, as well as to insulate the alleged criminal enterprise she led from state law enforcement.
Lucas allegedly ordered the company to buy and sell more than 100 kilograms of illegal marijuana. She was charged alongside her daughters, Lisa Lucas-Burke and Theresa Lucas-Lamb, and her grandson, Ryan Eichelberger, in addition to other co-defendants.
Blanche said Lucas and his co-defendants allegedly engaged in a “large-scale RICO drug trafficking and money laundering conspiracy.”
Prosecutors will prove that Lucas “violated the trust of the people of Portsmouth and Chesapeake, Virginia, and his colleagues in the Senate,” Blanche said.
“Through her elected office, Senator Lucas has served as a public servant to the people of Virginia. Her first duty should have been to care for her constituents before herself,” the attorney general said. “But the charges listed in the indictment reflect the alleged behavior of a public official who put her own financial interests ahead of those for which she was elected. Whether you are a Democrat or Republican, an elected official or an ordinary citizen, no one is above the law.”
Blanche said the investigation that led to the charges began “many years ago” and was not started by the Trump administration.
FBI Director Kash Patel also spoke at the press conference and said Lucas “has a lot of responsibilities to answer.” He called his actions “truly the epitome of hypocrisy on the part of a public official.”
As a result of this alleged scheme, Lucas accumulated nearly $5 million in “ill-gotten gains,” according to the FBI director.
Medical marijuana can be sold by licensed dispensaries in Virginia, and people can possess a certain amount for personal use. The state is set to launch regulated retail marijuana sales next year after the Virginia Legislature legalized the sale of recreational cannabis in July.
Lucas sponsored a legalization bill in the state Senate in 2021 and has supported other measures decriminalizing marijuana, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
Prosecutors alleged that in 2023 and 2024, Lucas received violation notices from the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services related to The Cannabis Outlet for selling cannabis products that did not comply with state law.
According to the indictment, Lucas allegedly told an unindicted co-conspirator that she wanted to obtain a recreational license in the state in order to create “generational wealth” for herself and her family, adding “this is my last chance.”
In a phone call with a Virginia state lawmaker in March, Lucas reportedly said she needed the leisure industry to take off because “when I did it, it was obviously illegal.” The indictment also alleges that Lucas was warned by a senior law enforcement official during several meetings that the sale of marijuana was illegal.
Prosecutors unsealed the indictment just weeks before the November election. Lucas is not up for re-election, but his daughter, Lucas-Burke, is running for Portsmouth City Council. Generally, the Justice Department has historically avoided overt law enforcement or prosecutorial activities involving political figures within 60 days of an election.
Blanche said the unwritten so-called “60-day rule” is not part of the Justice Manual, which sets out the department’s internal policies and procedures. He defended the decision to charge Lucas and his daughter.
“We are not doing political revenge,” he said.
Lucas played a key role in promoting a new congressional map thanks to the Virginia Legislature adding four Democratic-leaning seats. THE the map was approved in a referendum in April but in May the Supreme Court of Virginia thrown away the new map, dealing a blow to the state’s Democrats. The United States Supreme Court rejected an effort by Virginia Democrats to revive the new House lines.
Lucas was first elected to the Virginia General Assembly in 1991 and currently serves as President pro tempore of the Senate. While she helped lead the Democratic redistricting plan earlier this year, Lucas used social media to taunt Republicans, President Trump and even her state’s Democratic U.S. senators. She was re-elected in 2023 for a four-year term and is not up for re-election until 2027.
“You all started it and we finished it,” she posted on social media after the measure passed, referring to Mr. Trump’s decision. push to redraw Texas congressional map who launched the redistricting battle between the two parties.
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