\u201cToday\u2019s 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,\u201d Lucas said in an evening statement. \u201cWhat 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
The FBI said only that it was conducting a court-authorized search in Portsmouth. Such searches require approval from a judge and for investigators to assert that they believe they have identified probable cause of a crime.<\/p>\n
Besides the search at Lucas’ office, which houses her disabilities services business and is her political base in Portsmouth, agents in FBI T-shirts also went into the nearby cannabis store, which she opened in 2021. Several entrances to the Cannabis Outlet’s parking lot were blocked by unmarked vehicles with flashing blue lights, as was an entrance to the politician’s office.<\/p>\n
By evening, agents were carrying boxes and bags out of the shop’s back door.<\/p>\n
Lucas, a prominent backer of legalizing marijuana<\/a>, has said the store sells legal hemp and CBD products. It has drawn scrutiny<\/a> from local media amid allegations that some products were mislabeled. <\/p>\n Virginia has legalized pot possession<\/a>, but retail sales of recreational marijuana remain illegal in the state. <\/p>\n A woman who identified herself as Lucas\u2019 granddaughter, Nicole Bremby, came by after agents left to check on the Cannabis Outlet. She declined to discuss the raids.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve had better days,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s all good. Everyone is home.\u201d<\/p>\n Virginia Democrats point to other recent prosecutions<\/p>\n State House Speaker Don Scott said he was deeply concerned by the FBI search.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now, there is far more theatrics and speculation than actual information available to the public,\u201d Scott, a Democrat, said in a statement, adding that more facts were needed \u201cbefore anyone rushes to political conclusions.\u201d<\/p>\n Gov. Abigail Spanberger declined to comment.<\/p>\n Other Virginia Democrats were quick to note that the search comes as the FBI and Justice Department have opened a spate of investigations into perceived adversaries of Trump. <\/p>\n Last week the Justice Department charged former FBI Director James Comey<\/a> with making a threatening Instagram post against Trump, an accusation that Comey \u2014 who for nearly a decade has drawn the president\u2019s ire \u2014 has denied. A court dismissed<\/a> federal prosecutors’ earlier case accusing Comey of lying to Congress. <\/p>\n A separate mortgage fraud case, also ultimately dismissed<\/a> by a court, targeted Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought a major civil fraud lawsuit<\/a> against Trump and his business. Both she and Comey, a longtime Republican who split from the party in the past decade, denied the charges and said the prosecutions were vindictive.<\/p>\n Such cases \u201chave undermined public confidence\u201d in federal prosecutors in Virginia, Democratic state Attorney General Jay Jones said in a statement. <\/p>\n The FBI and Justice Department have also provoked concerns among Democrats about ongoing election-related investigations, including the seizure by agents of ballots<\/a> and other information from Fulton County, Georgia.<\/p>\n Lucas has been a vocal leader of Virginia’s redistricting effort, which voters approved last month<\/a>. A sign urging people to \u201cvote yes\u201d to \u201cstop the MAGA power grab\u201d still hung Wednesday on a fence separating her office’s parking lot from that of the cannabis shop.<\/p>\n Lucas played a leading role in Virginia redistricting<\/p>\n Amid a national, state-by-state partisan redistricting fight<\/a> kicked off by Trump\u2019s desire to aid his fellow Republicans, Virginia voters OK’d a Democrat-backed constitutional amendment authorizing new U.S. House districts. The plan could help the party win up to four additional seats.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are not going to let anyone tilt the system without a response,\u201d Lucas said after the vote. Trump, meanwhile, denounced the results.<\/p>\n The state Supreme Court<\/a> let the referendum proceed but has yet to rule on whether the effort is legal. The court is considering an appeal of a lower court judge\u2019s ruling that the amendment is invalid<\/a> because lawmakers violated procedural requirements.<\/p>\n
![\"|\"](\"https:\/\/mapi.cp.org\/asset-photos\/001eeec6-0b7a-4f11-ac14-773e568deb2f\/4c941bda34864945e1c22506e1f4aa10ca0ebd4e1530ad0b7365bf52a178da81.jpg\" "\\"|\\"")
![\"|\"](\"https:\/\/mapi.cp.org\/asset-photos\/001eeec6-0b7a-4f11-ac14-773e568deb2f\/8f3ec35041a5da79373398b2c6315de23e3745fb91b1aa2061739d0466a2619b.jpg\" "\\"|\\"")
![\"|\"](\"https:\/\/mapi.cp.org\/asset-photos\/001eeec6-0b7a-4f11-ac14-773e568deb2f\/5802e507fc48d57b375a4a9a9984c0b8f15722ea5444080f4a9fcf1f309ef87d.jpg\" "\\"|\\"")
![\"|\"](\"https:\/\/mapi.cp.org\/asset-photos\/001eeec6-0b7a-4f11-ac14-773e568deb2f\/635c03993f34a391dfd67eb6886afc0cd3600102443d4bf18c5fa20db4511e0c.jpg\" "\\"|\\"")