L Louise Lucas also faces charges including bribery and money laundering Credit AP/Ryan M Kelly US Staff 8:18pm BST An 82-year-old senator has been accused of running a drug trafficking enterprise. L Louise Lucas, a Democrat for Virginia, allegedly used her political power to keep the operation a secret, according to an indictment charging her and six other defendants, including her relatives.

She and five other co-defendants are accused of illegally supplying recreational marijuana using a legal CBD (cannabidiol) shop as a front.

She “put her own financial interests before the people she was elected to serve”, claimed Todd Blanche, the US attorney general, at a news conference alongside Kash Patel, the FBI director.

Ms Lucas surrendered and was expected to make an initial appearance in federal court on Thursday, a spokesman for the justice department said.

FBI personnel enter a building in Portsmouth, Virginia, in May as part of their inquiries Peter Casey The charges, including drug trafficking, bribery and money laundering, came after the FBI searched Ms Lucas’ hometown office and a cannabis shop in which she has a stake in May.

An advocate of legalising marijuana, Ms Lucas partnered in opening the shop, The Cannabis Outlet, in 2021, selling hemp and CBD products. At the time of the search, Ms Lucas – who has been a vocal critic of Donald Trump – said it was an attempt to intimidate her.

“This is the circus we always expected it to be,” said Brian Woolfolk, chief counsel for the L Louise Lucas Legal Defence Fund.

“I will not be intimidated. I will not be bullied. And I will not back down,” Ms Lucas said in a statement posted on social media.

The 82-year-old great-grandmother has occupied the state Senate seat since 1992.

She leads the powerful Senate finance committee, through which all legislation with any budget impact flows and has previously used the position to stop and ultimately kill legislation she opposes.

‘Not a political payback’Mr Blanche denied allegations that politics played a role in Ms Lucas’ case, and pointed out that the investigation began before the second Trump administration started in January 2025. “We don’t do political paybacks,” he told reporters. During Mr Trump’s second term, his justice department has pursued criminal cases against many of his foes, including Letitia James the New York attorney general, James Comey the former FBI director, and John Bolton his former national security adviser.

Mr Patel said that the charges alleged “Lucas and a close-knit group of family members and associates orchestrated a multi-year scheme to enrich their own criminal marijuana enterprise, ‘the Lucas Enterprise’ – using Lucas’ position as chairman of the Senate finance and appropriations committee to insulate the enterprise from criminal scrutiny and influencing legislation to financially benefit themselves”.

‘Leader of the enterprise’The indictment describes Ms Lucas as the “leader of the enterprise” who “approved and directed criminal activities”, including arranging for the acquisition and distribution of marijuana and supervising the laundering of the proceeds.

The indictment also alleges that Ms Lucas worked with another of the defendants to use her political position to obtain a recreational marijuana licence for him, with the understanding that the proceeds from sales under the licence would be shared with her.

Since 2021, marijuana has been legal to possess in Virginia and many shops across the state have sold cannabis-derived products. But full recreational sales are not yet under way. Legislation enacted earlier this year will allow them beginning in July 2027.

Two of Ms Lucas’ daughters and her grandson have also been charged. They were also scheduled to make an initial court appearance on Thursday afternoon.