Virginia governor questions ‘highly unusual charges’ against Black legislator pushing ‘long-overdue police reform’

On Monday, Gov. Ralph Northam (D-VA) criticized the "highly unusual" prosecution of state Sen. Louise Lucas, the first Black woman Senate President Pro Tempore of Virginia, who is being charged in connection with the destruction of a Confederate monument in Portsmouth.

Lucas has been charged with two felonies, including conspiracy to commit a felony and injury to a monument in excess of $1,000, for her alleged role in an incident in which a Confederate statue was torn apart by protesters, falling on one and causing injury. Also being charged is a school board member and several local NAACP representatives.