Eight days ago, Louise Lucas giddily and "ruthlessly" trolled Republicans over the success of Virginia's redistricting referendum. Today, the woman who began promoting T-shirts with the message "TEN F****N' ONE" may need to focus more on getting legal representation. The FBI raided Lucas' office and nearly a dozen other locations, apparently in a corruption probe that resulted in judicially approved search warrants:
BREAKING: The FBI is currently RAIDING the office of high-ranking Democrat VA Sen. Louise Lucas in a MAJOR corruption investigation, per Fox
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) May 6, 2026
Sen. Lucas is a close ally of Dem. VA Gov. Abigail Spanberger
MULTIPLE court-approved search warrants are being executed at Lucas' office… pic.twitter.com/HKAOvk4FSB
Federal agents are conducting a raid at the office of L. Louise Lucas, a Democrat who serves as Virginia Senate President Pro Tempore.
The FBI is serving multiple search warrants at the office in Portsmouth, Virginia, approved by a federal judge.
Sources say the warrants are tied to a major corruption investigation.
Agents are also searching a cannabis dispensary located next door to Lucas’ office.
According to the video report above, the investigation came as a complete surprise to Lucas. One has to wonder whether it comes as a surprise to Gov. Abigail Spanberger, too.
It shouldn't. Reports about Lucas' alleged ethical irregularities began to emerge last fall:
Virginia Senate President pro tempore Louise Lucas (D), a woman helping lead the charge to redraw the commonwealth’s congressional maps to favor Democrats ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, has used her donors’ cash to: bankroll her family business, fund her daughter’s political career, cut checks to churches who support her party, pay for casino events, support organizations where she is a member, and to cover tabs at restaurants dealing in steak and seafood.
Lucas brags that her redistricting effort, if successful, could result in the Old Dominion state having a congressional delegation of 10 Democrats and one Republican, costing the GOP four seats and possibly control of the entire House of Representatives. The Virginia lawmaker is no stranger to campaign finance controversy, as her approval for a casino project after receiving a $100,000 donation from the company proposing it drew scrutiny from the press in 2024. ...
One of the churches to receive the most cash from Lucas’s campaign treasury is New Mount Olivet Baptist Church in Portsmouth, where Lucas herself serves as a deaconess.
Lucas’s campaign has transferred $13,390 to the historically black Baptist church since 2021, according to public records. Milton Blount, who served as the church’s head pastor until his death in January, endorsed Lucas’s daughter, Lisa Lucas-Burke, for Portsmouth mayor in 2024, encouraged his followers to support the Democratic Party, and was involved in liberal politics. Cardell Patillo, who took over as the church’s top pastor following Blount’s passing, hosted Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger at a campaign event in August.
If the FBI got enough evidence for search warrants, that indicates they may have more than just coincidences. Do they have the kind of quid pro quo necessary to support bribery charges in these allegations, or have they discovered different crimes that Lucas may have committed? The inclusion of the cannabis shop next door is curious indeed.
What makes this even more compelling is Lucas' key role in pushing the referedum through the legislature that changed Virginia's congressional map from 6-5 Democrat to potentially 10-1. The state supreme court has stayed the election count while it considers challenges on a number of irregularities, but that didn't stop Lucas from promoting her role in getting it passed:
We have now had over 100 “Ten Fuckin’ One” shirts ordered and raised over $5k to help defend our Virginia Senate Democratic majority that delivered these maps! Thank you! Tweet our slogan tonight and tag me if you would like me to follow back! pic.twitter.com/qImhJqvV0T
— L. Louise Lucas (@SenLouiseLucas) April 28, 2026
Her viral moment was sparked by a celebratory video she posted on X, writing “THANK YOU VIRGINIA!” alongside a montage of herself dancing. The clip is set to “Mama Said Knock You Out” by LL Cool J, and opens with audio of President Donald Trump warning, “If we lose these elections… it’s gonna be a disaster.”
But the attention the longtime lawmaker garnered last week isn’t slowing down. Lucas has continued posting in the days since, leaning into the victory with a mix of political messaging and humor, including promoting T-shirts reading “Ten F**kin’ One,” a reference to the proposed 10–1 Democratic advantage under the new map. She shared Monday that more than 100 shirts had been ordered, raising over $5,000 to support Virginia Senate Democrats.
Stay tuned for updates, if warranted. We've been waiting the last couple of days for the Virginia state supreme court to issue a decision on the referendum; the deadline for certifying the vote was yesterday, but the stay probably extends that. If we get a decision on that case, we'll have a separate post to outline it.
Update: We've seen accusations that the FBI and Department of Justice is engaging in a partisan retaliation over the referendum. The Washington Post throws cold water on that theory:
The FBI on Wednesday raided the Portsmouth offices and a cannabis retail business co-owned by state Sen. L. Louise Lucas, the president pro tempore of the Virginia Senate and one of the most powerful Democrats in the state, as part of an ongoing corruption investigation, according to two federal law enforcement officials familiar with the matter.
The exact nature and targets of the probe remain unclear, though the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details of the investigation, said it involved allegations of bribery. One of those officials said the investigation began during the Biden administration.
The current DoJ may be more enthusiastic about the probe, but it apparently didn't start with Pam Bondi and Kash Patel.
Update: The NY Times confirms the probe started under Biden, and it involves alleged corruption around cannabis licensing:
The legislator, Louise Lucas of Portsmouth, is a senior leader in the State Senate, where she has served for more than 30 years. Two people familiar with the case said the search was related to an investigation opened during the Biden administration that has continued, examining possible corruption and bribery related to marijuana dispensary businesses.
F.B.I. agents executed a search warrant at Ms. Lucas’s office and a neighboring marijuana dispensary, according to people familiar with the matter, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe an open investigation. Other locations were also searched, the people said.
That explains the raid on the cannabis dispensary next door. Perhaps the other locations raided were dispensaries, too.
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