Virginia state Sen. L. Louise Lucas, a Democrat from Portsmouth, is seen in a 2024 photo on the Senate floor at the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond. (Minh Connors – The Washington Post / Getty Images)
By Michael Schwarz October 22, 2026 at 6:35pm
Eighty-two-year-old Virginia Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas, a Democrat, appeared confident that something like this would never happen.
On Thursday, the FBI arrested Lucas on multiple felony charges, including drug trafficking.
Meanwhile, on the social media platform X, users have rediscovered an April post in which Lucas taunted her political opponents for creatively highlighting her connection to the marijuana industry.
“Why would Republicans make a photoshop of me in a cannabis dress when there are real photos out there from the 420 festival dancing in a cannabis dress?” she asked in response to a likely AI-generated photo of her in cannabis-themed attire and jewelry. “Need I remind you that I’m not your typical grandma. Try again fellas!”
Why would Republicans make a photoshop of me in a cannabis dress when there are real photos out there from the 420 festival dancing in a cannabis dress? Need I remind you that I’m not your typical grandma. Try again fellas! https://t.co/C5xkOVJGpG
— L. Louise Lucas (@SenLouiseLucas) April 23, 2026
In 2021, Virginia legalized marijuana for recreational use and in small amounts. The distribution and sale of the drug, however, remained illegal.
Lucas allegedly oversaw businesses that bought and sold the drug while she lobbied for marijuana legalization. She now faces charges of racketeering and money laundering.
After her arrest on Thursday, unsympathetic X users reminded her of her overly confident post from April.
“Aged marvelously,” one user joked, adding a laughing emoji.
Aged marvelously 😂
— Steak for Breakfast (@SteakforPodcast) October 22, 2026
“Guess you’ll soon be swapping the cannabis dress for an orange jumpsuit and [shackles]. Good luck in there!” another user wrote.
@SenLouiseLucas Guess you’ll soon be swapping the cannabis dress for an orange jumpsuit and schackles. Good luck in there!
— FutureGulagRefugee,PhD (@kmjongssurgeon) October 22, 2026
Lucas made that April post only weeks before the FBI raided her office as part of “a major corruption probe.”
Of course, the octogenarian Democrat continues to enjoy the legal presumption of innocence.
If the charges against her prove true, however, then her April post reflects a shocking degree of arrogance and brazenness.
Furthermore, whether or not she has committed felonies, she is most certainly guilty of a crime against truth, one that her fellow Democrats commit with nauseating regularity: exploiting past injustices, in this case racial segregation, for political gain.
“Today, the FBI, the Department of Justice, and the full weight of the federal government have been wielded against an 82-year-old great-grandmother,” Lucas said in a statement following her arrest on Thursday. “I grew up under Jim Crow. I’ve seen what happens when people in power try to silence those who stand up to them. I spent my life fighting back, and I’m not stopping now.”
Moreover, earlier this year, Lucas played a key role in Virginia Democrats’ unconstitutional gerrymandering efforts.
In short, the elderly Democrat deserves the same legal rights as everyone else. If a jury finds her not guilty, then so be it.
By whatever legal and peaceful means it occurs, however, her eventual departure from public life will be a net gain to Virginians.
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Michael Schwarz holds a Ph.D. in History and has taught at multiple colleges and universities. He has published one book and numerous essays on Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the Early U.S. Republic. He loves dogs, baseball, and freedom. After meandering spiritually through most of early adulthood, he has rediscovered his faith in midlife and is eager to continue learning about it from the great Christian thinkers.
Michael Schwarz holds a Ph.D. in History and has taught at multiple colleges and universities. He has published one book and numerous essays on Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the Early U.S. Republic. He loves dogs, baseball, and freedom. After meandering spiritually through most of early adulthood, he has rediscovered his faith in midlife and is eager to continue learning about it from the great Christian thinkers.
