Virginia state senator Louise Lucas has been indicted on drug trafficking and money-laundering charges over allegations linked to a cannabis business she owns.
Lucas, 82, the president pro tempore of Virginia’s state Senate, was charged with racketeering and conspiracy to commit money laundering as part of a wider public corruption investigation.
Prosecutors allege that The Cannabis Outlet, owned by Lucas, was used to disguise proceeds from illegal marijuana distribution. The senator is also accused of using her political position to protect herself and members of her family from prosecution.
Lucas has been a prominent supporter of marijuana legalisation in Virginia. The indictment alleges that she promoted the policy partly for personal financial gain, including in messages in which she referred to making “a lot of money”.
In a phone call in February 2026, Lucas allegedly told a co-conspirator that she had her “last chance at generational wealth” and had “gotten too old not to be greedy”.
She reportedly surrendered to authorities on Thursday. Lucas was charged alongside about six alleged co-conspirators, including two of her daughters and a nephew.
At a press conference, FBI director Kash Patel accused Lucas of accumulating almost $5 million “in ill-gotten gains through her criminal enterprise”.
Lucas rejected the allegations and said she would not retreat from public life. In a statement posted on social media, she said: “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 added: “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.”
