The FBI is executing search warrants at the office of a top Virginia Democrat as part of an alleged corruption investigation. At the office of Virginia Senate President Pro Tempore Louise L. Lucas, federal agents are conducting a raid.
A federal judge gave the FBI permission to search the office in Portsmouth, Virginia, and they are doing so. Some people say the warrants are related to a major criminal investigation. Agents are also checking a dispensary for cannabis that is right next to Lucas’ office.
It’s not clear how the cannabis dispensary fits into the probe.
Officials haven’t said what kind of proof agents are looking for or if any charges have been brought
“BREAKING: Fox News is on scene in Portsmouth, VA where the FBI is raiding the office of Virginia Senate President Pro Tempore L Louise Lucas, a Democrat and close ally of VA Governor Spanberger. Fed law enforcement sources tell FOX this is in connection to a major corruption probe, and the FBI is serving multiple search warrants, approved by a federal judge, at her office and a next door cannabis dispensary. More to come with correspondent @AlexHoganTV, who reports that Lucas just showed up on scene as the FBI searches her office,” Fox News reporter Bill Melugin wrote on Wednesday.
“All of the staffers inside this building were told to come outside…we’ve been seeing the FBI come and go carrying boxes out of the building. There is a cannabis dispensary. We know that the senator is associated with several cannabis locations and dispensaries,” Fox’s Brooke Taylor reported.
We also saw at least three people being taken away, taken into custody. First they were put in handcuffs, put on the ground, and then they were taken away,” Taylor added. This comes as all eyes have been on Virginia in the redistricting battle.
“And what we’re seeing there, a completely different scene carrying out SWAT teams arrived with their weapons drawn, telling anyone in the building to come out of the building with their hands up
The Supreme Court of Virginia issued a ruling recently in the case involving a gerrymandered map drawn by a majority of Democrats in the state.
Justices denied a request for an emergency stay of the Tazewell ruling that said the State Board of Elections can’t certify the results of Virginia’s redistricting referendum, according to reports.
It comes after the court heard arguments on Monday about whether the vote approving the gerrymander earlier this month was legal and constitutional.
The ruling is merely on the request for a stay, as experts online explained, not on the merits of the appeal
If upheld, the newly redrawn map, which was only narrowly approved by a 51-48.3% margin, would change the current 6R-5R congressional seat makeup to 10D-1R.
That nasty old bag needs to go! Hopefully, Spanberger goes down with her. pic.twitter.com/fRzfO5B2xU
— The Real Parents of Loudoun County (@RealLOCOParents) May 6, 2026
The Republicans argue that the Democrat-led General Assembly violated procedural rules by presenting a constitutional amendment to voters, which would allow mid-decade redistricting.
If the court determines that the lawmakers did indeed break these rules, it could invalidate the amendment, making last week’s statewide vote meaningless.
“The proposed amendment is invalid for several reasons, any one of which is sufficient to invalidate the proposed amendment and require invalidation of the vote,” Thomas McCarthy, lawyer for the Republican challenge, concluded in the hour-long hearing on Monday, Fox News reported
In rebuttal, attorney Matthew Seligman said, “The people did, in fact, validly ratify the proposed amendment last Tuesday,” arguing further that challengers were trying to undo a democratic process that had already been completed through legislative approval and a statewide vote.
At one point, the justices acknowledged that courts allowed the vote to be held despite ongoing legal challenges.
He stated that the General Assembly has control over its own procedures and that there is nothing in the Constitution preventing lawmakers from acting as they did during the special session.
Attorneys for Democratic legislative leaders urged the Virginia Supreme Court to uphold the amendment and allow the new map, arguing that voters and lawmakers had followed every step required by the state Constitution
Seligman maintained that the legal definition of “election” supports the state’s position that the amendment was passed before the relevant November election.
In closing, he noted that federal law and court precedent support the view that Election Day occurs on a single day in November, which undermines the challengers’ argument, even though Democrats support weeks’ worth of early voting and early voting took place in Virginia in regard to the redistricting effort.
