Lila PrescottOct 23, 2026 4 min read

Virginia State Sen. Louise Lucas Charged With Drug Trafficking

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA - MARCH 02: Sen. Louise Lucas (D-VA) speaks during the investiture ceremony of Chief Justice Cleo E. Powell in the chamber of the Supreme Court of Virginia, on March 2, 2026 in Richmond, Virginia. Powell is the first African-American woman Chief Justice of the Virginia Supreme Court. (Photo by Mike Kropf-Pool/Getty Images)
Sen. Louise Lucas (D-VA) speaks during the investiture ceremony of Chief Justice Cleo E. Powell in the chamber of the Supreme Court of Virginia, on March 2, 2026. | Getty Images

Virginia state Sen. L. Louise Lucas, one of the most powerful Democrats in the state, has been indicted on federal charges including drug trafficking and money laundering, the Justice Department announced Thursday.

Prosecutors accuse the 82-year-old lawmaker of leading what they call the "Lucas Enterprise," a marijuana distribution operation allegedly run with members of her family. Lucas denies wrongdoing and says she is being targeted.

What the Indictment Alleges

The eight-count indictment charges seven people in a racketeering case. The charges include racketeering conspiracy, marijuana distribution, money laundering, honest services fraud through bribery, maintaining drug-involved premises, possessing firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking and wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

weed in the hands of a man against the background of weighing cones of cannabis marijuana close up
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Prosecutors allege Lucas directed the acquisition and distribution of 100 kilograms or more of marijuana and oversaw the laundering of the money it brought in. FBI Director Kash Patel estimated the scheme was worth about $4.5 million over five years.

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA - MARCH 02: Former Virginia Gov. Douglas Wilder embraces Sen. Louise Lucas (D-VA) during the investiture ceremony of Chief Justice Cleo E. Powell in the chamber of the Supreme Court of Virginia, on March 2, 2026 in Richmond, Virginia. Powell is the first African-American woman Chief Justice of the Virginia Supreme Court. (Photo by Mike Kropf-Pool/Getty Images)
Former Virginia Gov. Douglas Wilder embraces Sen. Louise Lucas (D-VA) during the investiture ceremony of Chief Justice Cleo E. Powell in the chamber of the Supreme Court of Virginia, on March 2, 2026. | Getty Images

Lucas' co-defendants include her daughters, Lisa Lucas-Burke and Theresa Lucas-Lamb, and her grandson, Ryan Eichelberger, Fox News reported. Also charged are Carlton Upton Jr., her business partner, along with Prince Albert William Hudson III and Tameka Johnson.

The Cannabis Shops

According to the indictment, Lucas opened The CBD Shoppe and The Cannabis Outlet in 2019, nearly two years before Virginia legalized recreational marijuana. In 2021, she and Lucas-Burke opened another Cannabis Outlet in Portsmouth.

MAPLEWOOD, NEW JERSEY - APRIL 21: Marijuana products are seen on display at Apothecarium Dispensary on April 21, 2022 in Maplewood, New Jersey. Today marked the first day of legal recreational marijuana sales in the state of New Jersey. Voters in the state approved the legalization in November 2020 with 13 dispensaries opening for business today. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Cannabis shop. | Getty Images

Prosecutors also allege that in August 2022, Lucas paid $750,000 for full ownership of a shell company tied to a co-conspirator's expected recreational marijuana license, and that she did not report that interest on required state financial disclosure forms.

The government claims she used her position as chair of the powerful Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee to shield the operation from scrutiny and push for laws that would benefit it. In one conversation cited in the indictment, Lucas allegedly said, "This is our last chance at generational wealth…I've got too old to not be greedy."

WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 22: FBI agents leave the office of John Bolton, former national security adviser to President Trump, with several boxes and other materials on August 22, 2025 in Washington, DC. The FBI said they are conducting "court authorized activity" at Bolton's home and office. (Photo by Andrew Leyden/Getty Images)
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FBI agents raided Lucas' office and her businesses in May. Prosecutors say agents recovered marijuana and firearms from the shops.

What Officials Are Saying

"Louise Lucas has served in a position of public trust in the Commonwealth of Virginia for over three decades," Attorney General Todd Blanche said. He said the indictment reveals "the behavior of a public servant who put her own financial interests before the people" she was elected to serve.

"Today's indictment reveals Louise Lucas allegedly abused her position of public trust as a 30-year Virginia State Senator," Patel said.

RICHMOND, VA - JANUARY 08: House of Delegates Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn (L) and President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas attend the State of the Commonwealth address at the state Capitol on January 8, 2020 in Richmond, Virginia. The 2020 legislative session began today under Democratic control. Photo by Zach Gibson/Getty Images)
House of Delegates Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn (L) and President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas attend the State of the Commonwealth address at the state Capitol on January 8, 2020. | Getty Images

"Public office is a position of trust and should never be abused for personal gain," said Theophani K. Stamos, first assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

The Justice Department noted that an indictment is only an accusation and that all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Lucas Fires Back

Lucas responded on X, describing herself as "an 82-year-old great-grandmother" under attack. "I grew up under Jim Crow. I've seen what happens when people in power try to silence those who stand up to them," she wrote. "I will not be intimidated. I will not be bullied. And I will not back down."

RICHMOND, VA - FEBRUARY 07: (L-R) State Senators Mamie Locke and L. Louise Lucas, both Democrats and members of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, speak to each other on the Senate floor at the Virginia State Capitol, February 7, 2019 in Richmond, Virginia. Virginia state politics are in a state of upheaval, with Governor Ralph Northam and State Attorney General Mark Herring both admitting to past uses of blackface and Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax accused of sexual misconduct. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
State Senators Mamie Locke and L. Louise Lucas. | Getty Images

She made her first appearance in federal court in Norfolk on Thursday and was released on her own recognizance after prosecutors did not seek to have her detained. She is scheduled to be arraigned in Newport News on Nov. 16.

Lucas has served in the Virginia Senate since 1991 and has been its president pro tempore since 2020. She has been a frequent critic of President Donald Trump and was a central figure in Democrats' push to redraw the state's congressional map, an effort the Virginia Supreme Court rejected in May.

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