FBI Raids Office of Virginia Democrat Who Spearheaded Redistricting Efforts

The FBI has raided the office of an influential Virginia Democratic legislator, along with a cannabis dispensary she co-owns, as part of a corruption probe, reported Fox News on Wednesday.

Virginia State Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas (D) was a key force behind the recent redistricting initiative that was backed by Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D). After securing a narrow win at the ballot box last month, Virginia’s congressional districts will be redrawn in a way that is expected to favor Democrats and net them four seats in the upcoming midterms.

According to Fox News congressional correspondent Bill Melugin, federal law enforcement sources said this was in connect “in connection to a major corruption probe” and “illegal marijuana sale probe,” with multiple search warrants authorized by a federal judge to be executed at Lucas’ senate office and a cannabis dispensary next door that she co-owns. Three people so far have been detained, Fox News reported.

Fox News correspondent Alex Hogan reported on the scene outside Lucas’ office in Portsmouth, Virginia Wednesday that the court had authorized search warrants at “more than ten locations across the state” and she had observed them taking out “boxes of documents.”

Lucas was there while her office was being raided and Hogan asked her, “Anything that you can say about what they are doing?”

“I don’t know what’s going on,” Lucas replied. “I’m just going to wait until they tell me.”

Several other reporters questioned how Fox News had been tipped off about the raid on Lucas’ office, noting that official Department of Justice policy required high-level approval to provide advance notice to media.

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