Virginia Senate President Pro Tempore L. Louise Lucas, 82, was charged Thursday in a federal marijuana conspiracy case, the Department of Justice announced.
Lucas faces charges of racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana, conspiracy to launder money, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and maintaining a drug-involved premises.
Six others were charged alongside her, including her daughters Lisa Lucas Burke and Teresa Lucas Lamb, her grandson Ryan Eichelberger, Prince Albert William Hudson III, Carlton Upton Jr., and Tamika Johnson.
Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel announced the charges Thursday.
The charges came after Lucas was given a 9 a.m. Thursday deadline to surrender to federal authorities. Earlier reports said members of her family had already been arrested.
The case grows out of an investigation that began during the Biden administration. On May 6, federal agents raided Lucas's Portsmouth Senate office and the cannabis business located next door.
Lucas has previously said the investigation was initiated by President Trump and amounted to weaponization of the Department of Justice.
In a statement Thursday, Lucas said the full weight of the federal government was being brought against an 82-year-old grandmother who grew up under Jim Crow. She said she will not be intimidated.
Lucas chairs the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee and is one of the most powerful Democrats in Richmond. She has long supported marijuana legalization, co-sponsoring the 2021 law that legalized possession in Virginia and continuing to push for a regulated retail market.
The case also lands after a summer of public fights between Lucas, Governor Abigail Spanberger, and House Democrats over data center tax incentives. Lucas argued that data centers should pay more of the infrastructure costs now borne by ratepayers and that longstanding tax breaks should end.
The charges are allegations. Lucas and the other defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Virginia Insider will continue to follow the case as it moves through federal court.
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