82-year-old US senator Louise Lucas charged with operating a marijuana ring

Federal prosecutors have arrested a distinguished Virginia lawmaker over allegations that she oversaw a prison marijuana enterprise.

Democratic state Senator L. Louise Lucas, 82,  and 6 different folks, together with her relations, have been charged in relation to a sweeping racketeering case that allegedly entails fraud, drug violations, and bribery.

She faces 5 units of felony expenses, in keeping with courtroom paperwork: racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute marijuana, conspiracy to launder cash, conspiracy to commit trustworthy providers fraud, and sustaining a drug premise.

Both of the politician’s daughters and her grandson are among the many alleged co-conspirators.

According to the submitting within the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Lucas and at the least six different associates “were members and associates of the Lucas Enterprise, a criminal organization, which was engaged in, among other things, conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana.”

Lucas, the Virginia Senate president professional tempore, posted a response on social media on Thursday, October 22.

“Today, the FBI, the Department of Justice, and the full weight of the federal government have been wielded against an 82-year-old great-grandmother. I grew up under Jim Crow. I’ve seen what happens when people in power try to silence those who stand up to them. I spent my life fighting back, and I’m not stopping now. 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,” it mentioned.

The arrest comes as federal legislation enforcement continues investigating political opponents of the president.

US Attorney General Todd Blanche denied Lucas’s case was political.

“We’re here today because of facts and evidence, which led to this investigation to begin many years ago, and facts and evidence that led to the grand jury to indict Senator Lucas and her alleged co-conspirators,” he mentioned. “And the facts and evidence will continue to guide our federal prosecutors in this case.”

The Associated Press reported in May {that a} prison investigation of Lucas started throughout Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration. Blanche mentioned the investigation began “long before President Trump was reelected.”

“We don’t do political paybacks,” Blanche mentioned.