Lucas’ office and a nearby cannabis shop in Portsmouth, Virginia, were the focus of a Wednesday FBI search tied to a corruption investigation, according to AP sources who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing criminal case. AP reported that federal agents went to the senator’s hometown office and also entered her neighboring cannabis shop during the search.
The FBI said it was conducting a court-authorized search in Portsmouth. Federal searches like the one described by AP require court approval and investigators to assert they have probable cause of a crime, according to the AP report. By evening, AP said agents were carrying boxes and bags out of the shop’s back door.
AP reported that one of the sources said the investigation into Democratic Sen. L. Louise Lucas was opened during Democratic former President Joe Biden’s administration, even as the probe appears to have continued across administrations and political parties. The two anonymous sources also characterized the actions as part of a corruption investigation.
In an evening statement, Lucas said, “Today’s actions by federal agents are about far more than one state senator; they are about power and who is allowed to use it on behalf of the people,” and she added, “What we saw fits a clear pattern from this administration: when challenged, they try to intimidate and silence the voices of those who stand up to them.” AP reported that the senator is a prominent backer of legalizing marijuana.
The AP report described the search area in detail, saying agents in FBI T-shirts entered Lucas’ office, which also houses her disabilities services business and serves as her political base in Portsmouth. AP also said unmarked vehicles with flashing blue lights blocked several entrances to the Cannabis Outlet’s parking lot and an entrance to Lucas’ office, and that the shop is owned by Lucas. Lucas previously told media that the store sells legal hemp and CBD products, and AP reported it has faced scrutiny from local coverage amid allegations that some products were mislabeled.
The search came amid debate inside Virginia’s Democratic leadership over other politically tinged federal investigations, according to the AP story. State House Speaker Don Scott said he was deeply concerned about what he called far more theatrics and speculation than actual information available to the public, and he said more facts were needed before anyone rushes to political conclusions. Gov. Abigail Spanberger declined to comment, according to AP.
Other Democrats pointed to a broader set of federal actions they said have targeted political adversaries. AP reported that State Attorney General Jay Jones said such cases “have undermined public confidence” in federal prosecutors in Virginia, and the AP story described the same theme through examples involving former FBI Director James Comey and Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James. The AP report said Comey has denied a Justice Department charge related to an Instagram post threatening Trump, and it noted that a court dismissed an earlier case accusing Comey of lying to Congress. It also said a separate mortgage fraud case targeted Letitia James, and that both she and Comey denied the charges and described the prosecutions as vindictive.
Lucas has been a vocal leader in Virginia’s redistricting effort. AP reported that Virginia voters approved last month a Democrat-backed constitutional amendment authorizing new U.S. House districts, and that the plan could help Democrats win up to four additional seats. AP also reported that Lucas played a leading role in that vote, with a “vote yes” sign—calling to “stop the MAGA power grab”—still visible Wednesday on a fence separating her office’s parking lot from the cannabis shop.
AP said the state Supreme Court allowed the referendum to proceed, but it has not yet ruled on whether the amendment is legal. The court is considering an appeal of a lower court ruling that the effort is invalid because lawmakers violated procedural requirements, the AP report said. Lucas has argued for a response to efforts by Republicans to redraw districts, and AP reported that Trump denounced the results.
Lucas, 82, has been a figure in Virginia politics since the 1980s, when she became the first Black woman elected to a city council seat in her native Portsmouth, AP reported. AP said she is now the first woman and first African American to serve as the Senate’s president pro tempore, and it described earlier work as the Norfolk Naval Shipyard’s first female shipfitter, according to her state library biography.