DOJ Indicts Virginia Democrat Louise Lucas in Marijuana Racketeering Case

The Justice Department unsealed an eight-count indictment Thursday charging Virginia state Sen. L. Louise Lucas and six others in what prosecutors call a racketeering conspiracy built on marijuana distribution, money laundering, bribery and wire fraud. Lucas, 82, of Portsmouth, chairs the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, which handles the state budget. The indictment alleges she led an enterprise with her two daughters and her grandson, arranged the acquisition and distribution of 100 kilograms or more of marijuana, and supervised the laundering of the proceeds.

Prosecutors allege Lucas used her office to shield the business from criminal scrutiny and to influence legislation that benefited it. In August 2022, the indictment says, she paid $750,000 for a 100% stake in a shell holding company tied to a co-conspirator's expected recreational marijuana license. FBI Director Kash Patel called it a five-year scheme worth an estimated $4.5 million.

Lucas surrendered Thursday morning and faces five of the eight counts, CBS News reports. The Associated Press reports she appeared before a federal judge in Norfolk. Lucas vowed on X to fight: "I spent my life fighting back, and I'm not stopping now."

Gov. Abigail Spanberger and Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine questioned charges filed 12 days before an election, the AP reports. Attorney General Todd Blanche answered at a Norfolk press conference: "We don't do political paybacks." He said the investigation began long before President Trump was reelected.

The eight counts cover racketeering conspiracy, marijuana distribution, money laundering, honest services fraud through bribery, maintaining drug-involved premises, possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking and wire fraud, according to the Justice Department. Lucas was elected to the Senate of Virginia in 1991 and has served as president pro tempore since 2020, the department says. The AP reports she was tapped to lead the budget committee in 2024 and used the post to halt bills she opposed, including former GOP Gov. Youngkin's plan to bring Washington's NBA and NHL teams to a proposed $2 billion development in Virginia.

The business dates to 2019 under VA Freedom Life, an umbrella for The CBD Shoppe and The Cannabis Outlet, the Justice Department says. In 2021, Lucas and one of her daughters opened The Cannabis Outlet in Portsmouth, according to the indictment. The AP reports Lucas has spoken publicly about her ownership stake in the shop, which opened to sell hemp and CBD products. She listed herself as President and CEO of VA Freedom Life on a state Statement of Economic Interests form, the department says, though the AP reports her most recent disclosure forms do not list the business by name.

The indictment says Lucas met the co-conspirator at her office in the capitol complex to receive a partial repayment, and spoke with other officials, including legislators, about the co-conspirator's qualification for a recreational marijuana license depending on a bribery payment. The AP reports a person familiar with the matter said, at the time of an earlier FBI raid on her office, that the probe was opened during former President Joe Biden's administration. The charges come as Lucas led Democrats' failed push this year to redraw Virginia's congressional map, the AP reports.

Why it matters

Every Virginia bill with a budget impact must pass through Lucas's committee, the AP reports.

Recreational marijuana distribution is not legal in Virginia, ABC News reports.

Blanche says the probe predates his tenure, Patel's and President Trump's reelection.