Powerful Virginia Democrat Arrested on Drug, Racketeering, Money Laundering Charges

Louise Lucas, a powerful Virginia Senate Democrat, was arrested and charged Thursday on five counts, including racketeering conspiracy, the illegal sale of a controlled substance and laundering of nearly five million dollars of illegal proceeds from her activities.

Lucas, Virginia’s Senate president pro tempore, was taken into custody by federal authorities and charged with leadership of a criminal enterprise that illegally obtained and distributed large quantities of marijuana, a controlled substance, then hid the proceeds.

The alleged illegal activities violate both current law and stricter laws in place when the activities began.

Last week, a grand jury approved a 45-page indictment including five charges against Lucas:

1.      Racketeering Conspiracy.

2.      Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute Marijuana.

3.      Conspiracy to Launder Money.

4.      Conspiracy to Commit Honest Services Fraud.

5.      Maintaining a Drug Involved Premises.

Count One details Lucas’ alleged leadership in a criminal organization’s activities:

“The defendant, LOUISE LUCAS, was the leader of the enterprise. LOUISE LUCAS approved and directed criminal activities and other activities in furtherance of the enterprise’s affairs, arranged for the acquisition and distribution of marijuana, supervised the laundering of marijuana proceeds, used her political influence to attempt to influence Virginia legislation for the benefit of herself and her family and maintained a premise for the distribution of marijuana.”

Count Three charges that Lucas acted while “knowing that the transactions were designed in whole and in part to conceal and disguise the nature, location, source, ownership, and control of the proceeds of specified unlawful activity.”

"[They] orchestrated a multi-year scheme to enrich their own criminal marijuana enterprise, the Lucas Enterprise using Lucas’ position as Chairwoman of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee to insulate the enterprise from criminal scrutiny and influencing legislation to financially benefit themselves," FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement.

Lucas responded to her arrest in a social media post Thursday – but, not by denying the charges and proclaiming her innocence.

Instead, she suggested that her indictment is ageist, racist and politically-motivated:

“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.”

Patel had a different take on the indictment. In a post of his own introducing a video clip from the press conference, the FBI director declared:

“No one is above the law.”

Lucas is not on the midterm ballot.