‘I’m not new to this. I’m true to this’: Virginia Sen. L. Louise Lucas fires back after Trump DOJ indictment

Federal prosecutors accuse the Virginia state senator and members of her family of illegally operating and benefiting from a marijuana business.

The Trump Justice Department has indicted Virginia State Senator L. Louise Lucas, a stalwart Democrat in Virginia politics and frequent critic of President Donald Trump.

According to multiple reports from news outlets, Lucas, 82, and members of her family were charged as part of a long-running corruption investigation into her family’s marijuana business.

The Washington Post reports that the indictment was returned by a federal grand jury last week and unsealed Thursday morning. The indictment accuses Lucas, the president pro tempore of the Virginia State Senate, and her relatives of setting up a business to sell marijuana before the substance was legalized for recreational sales in the state. Lucas reportedly turned herself in to authorities early Thursday while members of her family were arrested.

The indictment of Senator Lucas comes days after the Justice Department raided the Washington, D.C., home of U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, marking two high-profile law enforcement actions taken against prominent Black female Democrats who have been critical of President Trump just days ahead of Election Day.

According to the indictment, Lucas and her relatives are accused of creating a business to sell marijuana for recreational sales in 2021. It claims the business often operated under a fake name to procure marijuana. The Trump DOJ also alleges that Lucas used her political influence to enact legislation and regulations that would help her cannabis business.

In a statement after the indictment, Lucas said, “Today, the FBI, the Department of Justice, and the full weight of the federal government have wielded against an 82-year-old great-grandmother.”

“I grew up in Jim Crow. I’ve seen what happens when people in power try to silence those who stand up to them,” said Senator Lucas. “I spent my life fighting back, and I’m not stopping now.”

The Democrat added, “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.”

Lucas was first elected to the Virginia Senate in 1991 and made history in 2020 as the first Black woman to serve as Senate president pro tempore. The Virginia Democrat has wielded much power in state politics as a member of the party’s leadership, including as chairwoman of the Finance and Appropriations Committee, which gives her significant control over the state’s budget.

The scrutiny of Lucas’ family-run business first came to light in May, after FBI agents raided her office in Portsmouth, Virginia. At the time, Lucas slammed the federal probe as a politically motivated attempt to intimidate her after she led Virginia Democrats in redistricting the state’s congressional map to benefit their party and push back against a Trump-led effort for Republicans to redraw maps across the country to help the GOP maintain control of Congress in 2027. However, the Virginia Supreme Court struck down the Democratic-led ballot measure approved by Virginia voters.

Senator Lucas dismissed the May FBI raid as a “pattern” from the Trump administration to “intimidate and silence the voices who stand up to them.”

“Virginians sent a powerful message when they voted to stop Trump’s scheme to manipulate the 2026 midterm elections,” Lucas said at the time. “I was proud to help lead that effort and I have never been afraid to stand up to Donald Trump or anyone else that has tried to undermine our democracy. I am not backing down, and I will keep fighting for the people of Portsmouth and the Commonwealth of Virginia.”