Federal prosecutors on Oct. 22 announced the arrest of a Virginia politician and a half dozen others in connection with an alleged bribery and racketeering scheme.
According to an indictment filed Oct. 14 in the Eastern District of Virginia, state Sen. Lille Louise Lucas and six other co-defendants are charged with conspiring to distribute and possess marijuana, conspiring to launder money, laundering money and committing bribery by distributing large quantities of illegal marijuana under the auspices of her legal medical cannabis business.
All seven defendants, who also include two daughters and one grandson of Lucas, are currently in federal custody, U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche announced at a news conference Oct. 22. He said he believes
they will make an initial appearance in court on Thursday afternoon. It was not immediately known if she had obtained an attorney who could comment on Lucas' behalf.
USA TODAY has reached out to Lucas' office.
The 82-year-old senator's arrest comes after the FBI searched Lucas' office and a cannabis retail business she co-owns in Portsmouth, Virginia, on May 6 as part of a corruption investigation, USA TODAY previously reported.
The senator's co-defendants named in the 45-page indictment are Lisa Lucas Burke, Prince Albert Williamson Hudson, Ryan Eichelberger, Theresa Lucas-Lamb, Carlton Upton, Jr. and Tameka Johnson. It was not immediately clear whether they had obtained legal representation.
Blanche alleged at the press conference that Lucas arranged for getting and distributing marijuana, supervised laundering marijuana proceeds, used her political influence to demand and accept a bribe, and tried to influence Virginia legislation to benefit herself and her family.
The charges "reflect the alleged behavior of a public servant who put her own financial interests before the people she was elected to serve," Blanche said.
Lucas, a critic of President Donald Trump, has been a state senator since 1992. She is the state senate’s president pro tempore and among the state’s most prominent and outspoken Democrats.
Lucas helped lead Virginia's recent redistricting effort, which was expected to enable more Democrats to win congressional seats in the upcoming November midterms.
FBI Director Kash Patel, who also spoke at the news conference, accused Sen. Lucas of using her position of power and public trust in the Virginia state senate "to deflect and defend against her own criminal enterprise."
"Truly, the epitome of hypocrisy for a public official," Patel said.
This is a developing story.
Contributing: Aysha Bagchi and Marc Ramirez with USA TODAY
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Virginia state Sen. Louise Lucas arrested, indicted on federal charges
