(Monday, August 17, 2020) – Virginia State Senator Louise Lucas, the first Black woman to serve as Senate ProTempore in the Commonwealth, is being charged with taking part in a conspiracy to topple Portsmouth’s Confederate monument.

Police Chief Angela Greene announced today felony warrants against Lucas and more than a dozen other people, including several public defenders and representatives of the Portsmouth NAACP.  The charges drew immediate criticism from political allies , Governor Ralph Northam among them, who called the charges a payback for Lucas’ work to rein in police abuse.

” Several individuals conspired and organized to destroy the monument as well as summoned hundreds of people to join in the felonious acts, which not only resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to the monument, but also permanent injury to an individual,” said Greene at a Monday afternoon press conference.

Lucas’ attorney Delegate Don Scott told the Washington Post the charges against Lucas were a political stunt meant to weaponize the criminal justice system against African Americans.

Tomorrow, Lucas is scheduled to join other state lawmakers in Richmond for a special General Assembly to address racial injustices and police brutality in the wake of the May police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.