The FBI searched the hometown office of Virginia state Senate leader L. Louise Lucas and a nearby cannabis shop in Portsmouth on Wednesday as part of a corruption investigation, AP reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. The search, described by AP as bringing what was previously private into public view, centered on Lucas’ political base in the city.
AP said the FBI searched Lucas’ office and also entered her neighboring cannabis shop, with federal agents blocking multiple entrances to the cannabis business’s parking lot using unmarked vehicles with flashing blue lights. By evening, AP reported agents were carrying boxes and bags out of the shop’s back door.
Two people familiar with the matter told AP that the investigation into Lucas was opened during Democratic former President Joe Biden’s administration. Both people spoke on condition of anonymity because, AP said, the investigation is ongoing.
In a statement later Wednesday, Lucas said the federal actions were not limited to “one state senator.” She 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,” adding, “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.”
The FBI said only that it was conducting a court-authorized search in Portsmouth. Such searches require approval from a judge, and AP reported that investigators must assert they believe they have probable cause of a crime.
Lucas also has a disabilities services business in the Portsmouth office that agents searched, according to AP. She has been an outspoken supporter of legalizing marijuana, and she has said the cannabis shop sells legal hemp and CBD products. AP reported that local media scrutiny has followed, including allegations that some products were mislabeled, and that Virginia has legalized pot possession but still prohibits retail sales of recreational marijuana.
After agents left the area to check on the Cannabis Outlet, AP reported that a woman who identified herself as Lucas’ granddaughter, Nicole Bremby, stopped by. She declined to discuss the raids, telling AP, “I’ve had better days,” and, “It’s all good. Everyone is home.”
Virginia Democrats said the search should be evaluated with restraint. House Speaker Don Scott, a Democrat, said he was “deeply concerned” by the FBI action and that there was “far more theatrics and speculation than actual information available to the public,” adding that more facts were needed “before anyone rushes to political conclusions.” Gov. Abigail Spanberger declined to comment, AP reported.
Other Democrats pointed to a broader pattern they said has accompanied federal investigations into perceived adversaries of President Donald Trump. State Attorney General Jay Jones said such cases “have undermined public confidence” in federal prosecutors in Virginia, in a statement AP attributed to him. AP cited recent federal actions involving former FBI Director James Comey, former Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James and investigations tied to election matters including an episode involving Fulton County, Georgia.
The federal search also intersects with Lucas’ political profile in Virginia, AP said. Lucas has led the state’s redistricting effort and played a prominent role in a constitutional amendment voters approved last month that would authorize new U.S. House districts. Voters backed the Democrat-backed referendum, which AP said could help the party win up to four additional seats, and a sign urging people to “vote yes” to “stop the MAGA power grab” remained visible near the office and the cannabis shop area on Wednesday.
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 Portsmouth, AP reported. She has since served as president pro tempore of the state Senate as the first woman and first African American to hold that post, and AP said she previously worked as the Norfolk Naval Shipyard’s first female shipfitter, according to her state library biography.