State Sen. Louise Lucas of Portsmouth, one of Virginia’s most powerful Democrats, has been indicted on federal racketeering, marijuana distribution and money laundering conspiracy charges, with prosecutors alleging she used her legislative influence to protect and enrich a cannabis company she co-owned.
Lucas, 82, has surrendered to authorities, U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said Thursday at a news conference in Norfolk. Six other people, including family members and close associates, were also in custody in connection with the alleged scheme.
The eight-count indictment, unsealed Thursday morning, ccharges Lucas with racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana, money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and maintaining drug premises.
The indictment also includes firearms fraud and wire fraud charges against other defendants.
Lucas struck a defiant tone in a statement posted to X following her indictment, accusing federal authorities of trying to silence her.
“I grew up under Jim Crow. I saw what happens when those in power try to silence those who stand up to them,” she wrote. “I’ve spent my life fighting, and I won’t stop now. I won’t let myself be intimidated. I won’t let myself be intimidated. And I won’t back down.”
The revelation of the charges against the longtime senator and staunch critic of President Donald Trump comes 12 days before the midterm elections.
The investigation predates the Trump administration, but the timing is unusual because federal authorities have generally avoided conducting overt investigations involving political figures so close to an election.
Lucas is not on the ballot this year but has ties to prominent Democrats who are.
“We‘“I am here today because of the facts and evidence that led to the start of this investigation many years ago, and the facts and evidence that led the grand jury to indict Senator Lucas and his alleged co-conspirators,” Blanche said.
Prosecutors say Lucas ran an organization they called “Lucas Enterprise,” arranging the acquisition and distribution of at least 100 kilograms of marijuana and overseeing the laundering of the proceeds.
FBI Director Kash Patel said prosecutors believe Lucas and his associates accumulated nearly $5 million in proceeds from the alleged criminal enterprise over nearly five years.
“The purpose of his enterprise was the trafficking of large quantities of illegal marijuana, thereby creating generational wealth for the members and associates of his criminal enterprise,” FBI Director Kash Patel said at the news conference.
Prosecutors also allege that Lucas used her position as chairwoman of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee to protect the operation from criminal scrutiny and influence legislation in her favor.
Recreational use of marijuana is legal in Virginia, but its sale is not permitted. Earlier this year, lawmakers adopted a legislative framework create a recreational weed market that is expected to launch next summer.
Blanche accused Lucas of betrayal of the public on ThursdayIt is trust.
“Her first duty should have been to take care of her constituents before herself,” he 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. »
Prosecutors describe business dealings
According to Blanche, Lucas’ associates included his daughters, Lisa Lucas-Burke and Theresa Lucas-Lamb, and his grandson, Ryan Eichelberger, as well as Carlton Upton Jr, Prince Albert William Hudson III and Tamika Johnson.
Lucas and Lucas-Burke opened The Cannabis Outlet in Portsmouth in 2021. Prosecutors allege Lucas-Lamb and Eichelberger acquired marijuana, oversaw its distribution and managed the company’s store.
Upton was Lucas’ business partner in VA Freedom Life, an umbrella company of The CBD Shoppe and The Cannabis Outlet beginning in 2019, according to the indictment.
Upton ran The CBD Shoppe and allegedly worked with Lucas to obtain a recreational marijuana license for the benefit of the business.
Prosecutors also allege that Upton made materially false statements during an April 2020 application for an economic disaster loan for Virginia Freedom Life. The loan was funded to the tune of $11,800.
Another allegation relates to a $750,000 payment Lucas allegedly made in August 2022 for full ownership of a company serving as a shell holding company for a co-conspirator’s expected recreational marijuana license in Virginia.
Prosecutors allege Lucas failed to disclose those interests on required financial disclosure forms. They say she met with the co-conspirator in his office in the Capitol complex to receive a partial refund and discussed the person’s qualification for a marijuana license with officials, including lawmakers, based on receiving a bribery payment.
“Yes, we can make a lot of money, but before we go down that path again; how about we start by at least sending a good faith payment of the money you owe me with provisions for the balance. Then we can talk about future business plans,” she wrote in a text message to the anonymous co-conspirator in November of last year.
Lucas had identified herself as president and CEO of VA Freedom Life in a February 2022 declaration of economic interests, according to the release.
Patel said the alleged operation also involved “laundering drug proceeds to expand the operation she started and created, and awarding marijuana licenses to entities in which the members had a financial interest.”
The case became public on May 6when federal agents searched Lucas’ Portsmouth legislative office and cannabis businesses. The Justice Department said agents recovered marijuana and firearms at the Cannabis Outlet and CBD Shoppe.
At the scene, FBI spokesperson Cassandra Temple told the Mercury newspaper: “We are conducting court-authorized law enforcement activities today. » She declined to answer additional questions.
Fox News, which first reported the operation, said staff members were ordered to leave Lucas’ office while agents conducted searches. Witnesses saw officers carrying boxes from the building. The network also reported that armed SWAT officers ordered people to leave the adjacent Cannabis Outlet and that at least three people were handcuffed.
Lucas arrived after the operation began and told a reporter she didn’t know what it was.
Lucas called the investigation intimidation
After the May searches, Lucas called the federal action political intimidation, saying it affected “far more than one state senator” and reflected “a clear trend of this administration.”
In a statement about at the time, she linked the raid to the redistricting referendum voters approved in Aprilsaying Virginians voted to “stop Trump’s plan to manipulate the 2026 midterm elections.” The Virginia Supreme Court later overturned the referendum.
“I am not backing down and will continue to fight for the people of Portsmouth and the Commonwealth of Virginia,” she said.
Lucas has served as a member of the Senate since 1992 and as president pro tempore since 2020. Her chairmanship of the Finance Committee gives her considerable influence over the state’s budget, taxes and spending.
Earlier this year, she pushed to end or reduce sales and use tax exemptions for data centers, arguing that the incentives had become too costly and were straining Virginia’s power grid and infrastructure. Resistance from House Democrats and Gov. Abigail Spanberger contributed to a budget impasse within the party that lasted for months.
What the indictment means for Lucas’ role in the Senate and the upcoming legislative session remained unclear Thursday morning.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, a Fairfax Democrat, called for restraint in his response to the accusations against his Democratic colleague.
“The federal indictment unsealed this week contains serious allegations, and Senator Lucas is entitled to the same presumption of innocence that any American enjoys,” Surovell said in a statement.
“She is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. I will not comment on the evidence in this case and urge others to exercise the same restraint.”
Spanberger also emphasized Lucas’ presumption of innocence, but criticized the timing of the indictment.
“She and her family deserve the opportunity to present their defense and speak about the allegations presented,” Spanberger said in a statement Thursday afternoon.
“The timing of this indictment undermines the U.S. Department of Justice’s long-standing policy of not taking legal actions – including indictments or meaningful investigative steps – in the run-up to an election and, unfortunately, this timing further erodes the trust the American people deserve in the Department of Justice.
Another prominent Democrat who defended Lucas’ right to due process while criticizing the Trump administration’s handling of the case was Virginia House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth.
“The Trump administration’s weaponization of the justice system is deeply troubling, as are the allegations made in this indictment,” Scott said in a statement. “Today we heard only from the Trump administration, and Senator Lucas will have the opportunity to respond to these accusations in court.”
House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore, R-Scott, said the allegations against Lucas should be handled in court.
“The charges against Senator Lucas are serious and extend beyond politics. They will be resolved through our justice system, as they should be,” Kilgore said in a statement.
Lucas’ cannabis business had come under scrutiny years before the federal searches. Lucas co-sponsored legislation legalizing simple possession of marijuana in 2021, but that change did not establish a regulated recreational retail market.
A Mercury Survey 2022 found labeling discrepancies and quantities of delta-9 THC that made the sale of two tested products from The Cannabis Outlet illegal under Virginia law at the time.
A cereal bar contained significantly less total THC than its package advertised. The report examines broader concerns about unregulated cannabis products following the legalization of possession.
In a Feb. 9, 2026, phone call, Lucas allegedly discussed pending recreational marijuana legislation and the possibility of an unnamed co-conspirator obtaining a license and sharing profits with her, according to the indictment.
Prosecutors cite her as “our last chance at generational wealth” and saying, “I’m too old not to be greedy.”
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