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PORTSMOUTH — The FBI raided state Sen. Louise Lucas’ office and The Cannabis Outlet in Portsmouth on Wednesday in what some Democrats are calling political retribution for the senator’s role in last month’s redistricting referendum. As of Wednesday evening, Lucas had not been charged with a crime.
“Today’s actions by Federal agents are about far more than one more state senator; they are about power and who is allowed to use it on behalf of the people,” Lucas said in a statement Wednesday evening. “What we saw fits a clear pattern from this administration: when challenged, they try to intimidate and silence the voices who stand up to them.”
FBI agents in military fatigues gathered in the parking lot outside The Cannabis Outlet, which Lucas has a business interest in, as onlookers crowded across the street. Numerous unmarked vehicles, including an armored personnel carrier and multiple vans, were in the parking lot outside. Agents could be seen going in and out of the nearby building at 1214 County St., which serves as the office for the Democratic senator’s business, Lucas Lodge LLC, and her political headquarters.
Lucas, 82, is a powerful member of the state Senate and chair of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee. The scope of the investigation, or its goal, is unclear.
An FBI spokesperson would only confirm the agency was “executing a court-authorized federal search warrant in Portsmouth, Va.” Federal authorities have indicated that the warrants filed to authorize the searches are sealed.
Two people familiar with the case said the search was related to an investigation opened during former President Joe Biden’s administration that has continued, examining possible corruption and bribery related to marijuana dispensary businesses, according to a report from The New York Times.
Calls to Lucas’ cellphone went unanswered Wednesday.
Much of the Lucas family had come together to the lawmaker’s Portsmouth home by the afternoon. The senator’s daughter, Lisa Lucas Burke, said her mother was on the phone with her attorneys as the news played on the living room TV.
FBI agents raided the location where Lucas Lodge runs day support programming for adults with developmental disabilities, according to Lucas Burke, the organization’s executive director. She said their programs had to be suspended for the day, and clients were asked to return home while the FBI conducted their activities.
Lucas is a veteran lawmaker who was at the center of the state’s recent redistricting fight, where she was a staunch supporter of a map that favored Democrats in 10 out of Virginia’s 11 congressional districts. That version of the proposed maps ultimately won out over more moderate proposals.
In light of her mother’s involvement in the redistricting battle and the fight against data centers, Lucas Burke said “it’s got a lot of people upset.”
“It’s all politics,” she said.
A man who identified himself as Lucas’ grandson and a cashier at The Cannabis Outlet said the FBI “ran in there” while he was working and told him to leave. The man, who declined to provide his name, said Lucas was on the scene Wednesday morning. He said he expects the store to be open Thursday.
FBI officials were seen moving boxes out of the store, which advertises CBD products, which are legal to buy and sell. Both Portsmouth police and the Portsmouth Sheriff’s Office told The Virginian-Pilot they were not aware of the raid ahead of time.
FBI activity was also reported at other locations in Portsmouth and Norfolk on Wednesday, but it was unclear whether the activity was related to the raid on Lucas’ businesses.
The FBI announced last week that Upton was indicted on three felony counts of wire fraud. The indictment alleges Upton received more than $100,000 in federal pandemic-era funding after several applications for Small Business Association loans throughout 2020. One of the applications was for Virginia Freedom Life, and allegedly contained false information about Upton’s business entities, income, employment and background.
Watching the scene outside unfold outside the Cannabis Outlet, Michelle Boyd, 48, of Portsmouth said 1st Cousins Automotive, located at 1428 Portsmouth Blvd., which is about two blocks from her house, was also raided around 6:30 a.m. She said she heard a loud “boom” and someone on a megaphone telling the people inside the address to “come out with their hands up.” The sole worker at 1st Cousins Wednesday afternoon confirmed the FBI’s presence earlier, but he wasn’t there at the time and didn’t know anything else about it.
Virginia decriminalized the possession of small amounts of cannabis in 2021, but retail sales are still illegal. The legislature passed a bill that would establish a retail market beginning next year. That legislation is now on Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s desk.
Lucas, who has held the office for 34 years, often demonstrates her power on social media, where she’s known for fiery posts on the platform X.
While she took her victory lap after voters approved the redistricting referendum last month, Lucas’s campaign began selling shirts that read “Ten F—in’ One.”
Several prominent Democrats came to her defense Wednesday, questioning whether the raids were political retribution for her role in the redistricting fight.
“Lets start with this: Senator L. Louise Lucas has not been charged with anything!” said Virginia House Speaker Don Scott, also a Democrat from Portsmouth. “I am deeply concerned by today’s FBI raid. Given the politicization of this administration — an FBI led by Kash Patel and a Justice Department run by President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney — I think people should take this with a grain of salt and allow the facts to come out before jumping to conclusions.”
State Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, also came to the defense of her longtime ally and friend.
“This raid comes on the heels of a movement in Virginia, where voters overwhelmingly chose to redraw congressional lines in a way that would uphold fair elections in the Commonwealth and across the nation,” she said. “The Senator was the brainchild of these efforts and pushed back against President Trump’s many attempts to rig another election.”
U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott tied the raid to the redistricting fight, saying the FBI investigation occurs in the broader context of Trump wielding the power of the Department of Justice to target his political opponents, such as New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey. And Attorney General Jay Jones said those actions undermined public confidence in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
A spokesperson for Spanberger said she was aware of the law enforcement operation.
“In the absence of additional details, the Governor will not be commenting on a federal investigation at this time,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
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