State Sen. Louise Lucas has been charged with two felonies for an incident at the city of Portsmouth’s Confederate monument on June 10.
In addition to state senator Lucas, felony charges were filed against 13 other individuals including a member of the Portsmouth School Board, three Portsmouth NAACP representatives and three public defenders.
All were charged with either injury to a monument in excess of $1,000 or conspiracy to commit a felony and injury to a monument in excess of $1,000. Under Virginia legal code, the injury to a monument charge is a class 6 felony which carries up to 5 years in prison anda fine of up to $2,500, though the court can require the perpetrator to pay restitution in the amount of the fair market cost of repair or the fair market replacement value of the monument.
The Conspiracy charge can add up to 5 years and an additional $500 fine to the sentence if convicted.
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The Portsmouth PD used images and video of the destruction to identify and charge the perpetrators. Which leaves me questioning why other municipalities haven’t done the same.