10/22/2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 22, 2026
RUTLEDGE STATEMENT ON LOUISE LUCAS ARREST
“She fu***ng started it. I fu***ng finished it.”
NORFOLK, Va. — Merle Rutledge, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, released the following statement today after federal authorities announced the indictment and arrest of Virginia State Senator Louise Lucas on charges including racketeering, ma*****na trafficking, money laundering, and bribery:
“Louise Lucas started this fight years ago when she and her allies tried to silence, smear, and bury anyone who questioned the stench coming from her operations in Portsmouth.
I didn’t invent the allegations. I repeated what the public record, the complaints, the business filings, and the pattern already showed. I said it consistently. I said it loudly. And I said it while most of the political class looked the other way.
Then came the FBI search warrant and the raid on her office and cannabis shop. Now we have a federal indictment charging her with running a criminal enterprise, trafficking ma*****na, laundering money, and using her power in the State Senate to protect and enrich herself and her family.
She started it.
I fu***ng finished it.
The people of Virginia deserve better than politicians who treat public office like a family business and the law like a suggestion. This is exactly why I’m running for U.S. Senate — to clean out the corruption that has been protected for far too long.
The truth eventually catches up. Today it did.”
— Merle Rutledge
Candidate for U.S. Senate
