WASHINGTON—In what many are calling a politically motivated abuse of power ahead of the midterm elections, federal authorities have hit Virginia Democrat—and prominent Trump critic—State Sen. L. Louise Lucas with racketeering and money laundering conspiracy charges in connection with a cannabis business she co-owns.
On Oct. 22, Lucas voluntarily surrendered to authorities. U.S. Attorney General and former Trump criminal defense lawyer Todd Blanche, along with FBI Director Kash Patel, traveled to Norfolk, Va., for a press conference to announce the charges in what they’re pitching as a case of public corruption.
Patel alleged that over the past five years Lucas accumulated an estimated $5 million in “ill-gotten gains” through a “criminal enterprise.” The FBI director called it the “epitome of hypocrisy” for a public official. Blanche accused Lucas of putting “her own financial interests before the people she was elected to serve” and said that he “intends to prove that Senator Lucas violated the trust of the people…. Her first duty should have been looking out for her constituents before herself.”
Lucas was taken into custody along with six others, including her two daughters and her grandson.
According to the 45-page federal indictment, a number of allegations are being thrown at the senator, including racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to possess and distribute marijuana, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and maintaining a drug-involved premises.
Lucas has been a highly vocal advocate for legalizing marijuana and partnered in opening a shop, The Cannabis Outlet, in 2021, which sells hemp and CBD products. Such goods are legal in Virginia, along with personal marijuana possession, but recreational retail sales of marijuana are not yet legal. The DOJ alleges that the shop sold illegal high-potency marijuana while disguising it.
The indictment accuses Lucas of using her power to obtain a recreational marijuana license for someone she worked with—yet at the press conference, it was pointed out by a journalist that recreational marijuana licenses are not available in the state of Virginia. When pressed for clarification on how Lucas could use her power to obtain a license that does not yet exist, Blanche was unable to do so.
Lucas has denied any wrongdoing. In a statement released on social media, the longtime political figure said she had no intention of being intimidated by the Trump administration.
“Today, the FBI, the Department of Justice, and the full weight of the federal government have been wielded against an 82-year-old great-grandmother,” she declared. “I grew up under Jim Crow. I’ve seen what happens when people in power try to silence those who stand up to them. I spent my life fighting back, and I’m not stopping now. I’m not new to this. I’m true to this. I will not be intimidated. I will not be bullied. And I will not back down.”
Targeting a trailblazer
Lucas’ assertion that she’s not new to the political arena refers to her long history in public office and her role in historic firsts.
The senator began her career as an apprentice shipfitter at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in July 1967, and in 1971 became its first female shipfitter—a physically demanding line of work that constructs, assembles, aligns, and repairs a ship’s metal structure and hull. Focusing on substandard housing and poverty, Lucas got involved with the Portsmouth Emergency Housing Coalition and the Southeastern Tidewater Opportunity Project. Her political career began in 1984 when she became the first Black woman elected to the Portsmouth City Council. In 1991, she was elected to represent Virginia’s 18th District in the Senate of Virginia, and in 2019 she became the first woman and first Black American elected president pro tempore.
Prosecuting the president’s enemies
This indictment is not Lucas’ first battle with the Trump administration. In May, federal agents searched her office in Portsmouth, along with The Cannabis Outlet. In September, Virginia Democratic Rep. Suhas Subramanyam said he was informed by the FBI and the DOJ that his communications with Lucas were being monitored.
In a statement to the press, Subramanyam called the monitoring “deeply concerning” and said that “Trump’s DOJ has become his own personal law firm, with his former personal attorney carrying out vendettas on Trump’s political enemies. They have politically investigated multiple states’ Attorneys General and the former FBI director. Now they admit they have surveilled conversations by a sitting Democratic congressman.”
Both Lucas and Subramanyam connected this monitoring to the timing of an intense redistricting campaign in Virginia, which Lucas led. The redistricting campaign was in response to Republican gerrymandering around the country to tilt the midterms.
Subramanyam went further, noting that this “was also while the Oversight Committee was calling on Pam Bondi to testify on the Epstein investigation. This should concern anyone who believes in a real Department of Justice that serves the American people and not a singular president.”
When reporters asked at the Oct. 22 press conference about the DOJ’s motivations, Blanche claimed, “We don’t do political paybacks.” Yet, when looking at recent raids and investigations, the actions of the FBI and his department tell a different story.
Earlier this month, on Oct. 12, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and federal agents executed a search warrant at the Washington, D.C., home of Rep. Ilhan Omar. Authorities claimed the raid was part of a federal criminal and immigration fraud investigation. Omar, who has been repeatedly singled out by Trump throughout the years, said this was the latest escalation, and that the raid was an “attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement. For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns.”
Just this week, the president posted repeatedly on his social media platform Truth Social, demanding U.S. House Majority Leader, Republican Mike Johnson, remove Omar from her seat due to an alleged name change. This pattern of Trump targeting Omar and others he deems as political foes has occurred for some time. Before Lucas and Omar, there was Letitia James, James Comey, Ayanna Pressley, Lisa Cook, and others.
The president has posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, advocating the prosecution of political foes. When Blanche’s predecessor, Pam Bondi, was still the head of the DOJ, Trump wrote, “What about Comey, Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff, Leticia??? They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done… We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility.” In another post, he would later state, “Pam, they impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”
Not long after his outcry, the DOJ indicted both former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
In a recent New York Post podcast interview, Blanche claimed there is a “misperception” about the separation between the DOJ and the White House. The AG said he is often accused of not “suffering from independence.” “I don’t [suffer from independence]. I work for President Trump,” the head of the DOJ proclaimed.
Double standard
Even the handling of the paperwork concerning Lucas’ indictment is a contentious issue, with the senator’s legal team questioning the announcement of public charges and the unsealing of the indictment.
That is because historically, the DOJ adheres to an unwritten but widely observed strict “60-day rule.” This is an internal practice that advises prosecutors to avoid taking overt investigative steps, filing public charges, or unsealing indictments against political figures close to an election. This prevents the public perception of political interference or manipulation of the vote.
With the midterm elections days away, and the Republican Party under pressure due to low approval ratings, many question the timing of Lucas’ arrest. When pressed, Blanche claimed the 60-day practice was “not in writing” and said people “can criticize all they want, but it was time to bring the charges,” claiming that the investigation began under the Biden administration.
Yet, it would appear Blanche had a different view on the practice in 2024. Donald Trump cited the 60-day rule when charges against him were unsealed within a month of Election Day that year, claiming that the Biden administration was engaging in “election interference.” Blanche was part of Trump’s legal counsel at the time.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger stated that the timing of Lucas’ indictment so close to the midterm elections “further erodes the trust the American people deserve to have in the Department of Justice.”
Virginia Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell said the investigation of Lucas seemed to be “driven by politics.” When agents searched Lucas’ office, Surovell observed, “Fox News was tipped off in advance… The Department of Justice is led by the president’s former personal attorney, and this prosecution is being brought by the most corrupt administration in American history.”
Lucas’ attorney Antony Capozzolo said they were “surprised and disheartened” to learn of the charges and of the “gratuitous, misleading” statements by Blanche and Patel, but that Lucas and her family will be vindicated.
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