82-year-old US senator Louise Lucas charged with running a marijuana ring

Federal prosecutors have arrested a prominent Virginia lawmaker over allegations that she oversaw a criminal marijuana enterprise.

Democratic state Senator L. Louise Lucas, 82,  and six other people, including her family members, have been charged in relation to a sweeping racketeering case that allegedly involves fraud, drug violations, and bribery.

She faces five sets of felony charges, according to court documents: racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute marijuana, conspiracy to launder money, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and maintaining a drug premise.

Both of the politician’s daughters and her grandson are among the alleged co-conspirators.

According to the filing in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Lucas and at least six other associates “were members and associates of the Lucas Enterprise, a criminal organization, which was engaged in, among other things, conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana.”

Lucas, the Virginia Senate president pro tempore, posted a response on social media on Thursday, October 22.

“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. 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,” it said.

The arrest comes as federal law enforcement continues investigating political opponents of the president.

US Attorney General Todd Blanche denied Lucas’s case was political.

“We’re here today because of facts and evidence, which led to this investigation to begin many years ago, and facts and evidence that led to the grand jury to indict Senator Lucas and her alleged co-conspirators,” he said. “And the facts and evidence will continue to guide our federal prosecutors in this case.”

The Associated Press reported in May that a criminal investigation of Lucas began during Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration. Blanche said the investigation started “long before President Trump was reelected.”

“We don’t do political paybacks,” Blanche said.