Crews responding to gas leak at Hotel Harrington | TOP HEADLINES

Right now at 6, a man arrested accused of opening fire at a high school vigil, killing one man. New details tonight on the attack and the suspect's connections to other violent crimes. Retrial on the horizon. Federal prosecutors tell a judge they're taking the Trayon White bribery case back to court. And early voting happening now in Maryland. Less than two weeks until the midterm. The races and ballot measures you need to know about. The Six starts right now. Right now on The Six, one of Virginia's most powerful Democrats indicted. Tonight, longtime state Senator Louise Lucas vowing to fight back. The Justice Department accusing her of helping run a multi-million dollar criminal enterprise. New reaction pouring in from Commonwealth tonight. Fox House Homer Bash live in the newsroom with the latest. Homer, what can you tell us? Kenneth, Senator Lucas is free as her case moves forward. prosecutors did not ask the judge to keep her in custody she turned herself in this morning had her first federal court appearance just hours later in a 45 page indictment the justice department accusing her of drug trafficking money laundering nearly five million dollars involved and charging not just the high-ranking democrat but her daughter her grandson and several others now you're going to hear from the fbi director u.s attorney general and virginia senate majority leader Scott Sorevell, who has worked alongside Lucas for years. I think a lot of people have questions about the Trump administration. I mean, they indict people for throwing sandwiches at people and for picking paint chips off the floor of the reflecting pool. But they pardon people that assault federal law enforcement officers with hockey sticks and flagpoles and bear spray. So this office just doesn't seem to be a credible office. During her time as Virginia State Senator, instead of enforcing the law, she was actually breaking the law, as alleged in the indictment, and then using her position of power and public trust to deflect and defend against her own criminal enterprise. Don't trust me. Read the indictment. In the Virginia State Senate, releasing this statement shortly after the charges came down, she says the FBI, Department of Justice, and the full weight of the federal government have been wielded against an 82-year-old great-grandmother, adding, quote, 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 end quote let's get back to that indictment it indicates this investigation has spanned many years and it began during the Biden administration it involved FBI raids at cannabis businesses connected to Lucas back in May search warrants and court ordered wiretaps in one instance Lucas allegedly saying quote this is our last chance at generational wealth i've got too old to not be greedy end quote i spoke with Coleman Adams, a former federal prosecutor in Virginia, not connected to this case, but who says the breadth of evidence listed out in the indictment is pretty striking. You don't always necessarily have to go into that level of detail, but generally when prosecutors do, it's been my experience that they do so to let the public know this is what we've got and to also let the defendants know early on this is what we've got. And you'll have to back that up, obviously. And in a joint statement to Fox 5, Virginia Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, along with Congressman Bobby Scott, saying, quote, allegations of criminal wrongdoing must be taken seriously. As always, the Justice Department must follow the facts and those charged with crime are innocent until proven guilty. The timing of this announcement, they say just 12 days before an election, certainly raises questions about the DOJ's motivations. Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger calling out the timing of the indictment as well, just ahead of the election. Lucas is set to be arraigned November 16th in Newport News, Virginia, and is expected to enter a plea at that time. Kenneth. All right, Homa Bash, thank you. And let's dive deeper tonight into the legal battle that's ahead for Senator Lucas and the DOJ. Attorney A. Scott Bolden joins us live for analysis. It's good to see you, sir. Thank you for joining us. Thank you for having me. Of course. Let's start with, you read through this 50-page indictment. What stands out? Well, it's a speaking indictment whereby there's a lot of detail there. But remember, this is an indictment. She hasn't none of these allegations have been tested. I'm a white collar criminal defense lawyer. I've seen a lot of these over the years. The reality that sticks out is she's charged primarily with a conspiracy to money launder and a conspiracy for drug trafficking as part of an overall criminal enterprise that we're using these businesses essentially as fronts. Now, it's really interesting because I didn't see any affirmative acts of like drug sales to her that she was actively participating in. But she was kind of like the queen of this operation using political cover and business cover for the operations of the other co-defendants. Now, it needs to be tested. Those witnesses need to be cross-examined. I will say this. They've got tape recordings. They also have search warrants that have been signed by an independent judge in both cases. That's a little alarming if I was on the defense side, because at least an independent arbiter has said this is credible. They find the FBI agents credible. But again, we have the greatest criminal justice system in this country under our Constitution. And so she'll have her defense lawyers. She'll get her due process rights and she'll be able to challenge this evidence and put on her evidence and see. I will say this lastly, as an 82 year old great grandmother, haven't seen many indictments like this, but she's a very powerful woman. And the credibility of the DOJ under this Trump administration will always be an issue when it comes to political critics. And so racketeering cases are said to be difficult. Talk about what racketeering means and what has to be proven here. Well, it has to be a criminal enterprise. It has to be the conspiracy where it's an agreement between the co-defendants and that there were crimes that were committed under this criminal enterprise that she's in charge of running, if you will. You usually use racketeering against the mob. Now, many prosecutors, federal and state, have used it to prosecute criminal drug enterprises, even in the health care space, if you will. And if you've got the agreement, you've got the conspiracy and you've got the predicate bad acts to support an overall racketeering charge, then you can you you can prove that you can be convicted of that. Now, it's difficult for juries to follow the complexity of racketeering cases, if you will. If this case gets tried, it's going to take several weeks, not days. And the defense will have many defenses and an opportunity to defend herself and facts to push back on the complexities of the government's case, which includes racketeering, which is a really complex charge for juries to follow. And very quickly here in our final seconds, you mentioned a political how politics plays a role here. It is a legal battle, but it's also very political with this being a prominent and vocal Trump critic. But it was an investigation that started, we believe, under the Biden administration. So but how will this DOJ and Trump's DOJ likely impact this case? Well, they can say it started under the Biden administration, which is fine, which is fine. But that doesn't get you to the end zone as to whether this agency or DOJ has a political axe to grind or whether this is retribution. What's the difference between 12 days before the primaries that the Democrats are looking to win big across the country and bringing this indictment or making the arrest 13 days later, 12 days, I'm sorry, 15 days later, even 30 days later? She's an 82-year-old great-grandmother. This reeks of political retribution. But we'll have to see. They'll have to prove their case no matter what. All right. Criminal defense attorney A. Scott Bolin, thank you for your time. We appreciate it. Thanks for having me. of course. And a look at some other top stories we're following tonight. A retrial possible for D.C. Councilman Trayon White. The U.S. attorney for the district, Janine Pirro, says prosecutors will try to make a bribery case again after a mistrial last month. Pirro says the government has video showing cash being handed to White as part of a $156,000 bribery scheme. White, who has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, has asked a judge to toss the case. Arrested tonight for two Landover murders. Two of the four men charged connected to both deadly shootings. The first happened in October of 2024 on Old Landover Road, 18-year-old Kashawn Pollard died at that scene. Nine days later, Keshawn Sparrow Bay was killed along Atlee Drive. Police say these are two separate shootings. The first was part of a dispute. The motive for the other is not known. Right now, crews responding to a gas leak in northwest D.C., fire, D.C. fire, that is. It says a gas line was ruptured during construction at Hotel Harrington. This is a live look at that scene. The 400 and 500 blocks of 11th Street Northwest are blocked off, plus the 1100 block of East Street. Gas to the building has been shut off as PEPCO works to restore power. D.C. police warning people tonight to stay away. All right, let's turn our attention to this weather and get you outside. A live look now from our Fox 5 Skycam, the view of Frederick. It has been another beautiful fall day, and it has been repeat, rinse and repeat, Caitlin Roth, and not so bad. You know, I was admiring the glow that you had standing in front of a camera with that Frederick live shot. I mean, you were glowing just like the sky because the weather is that beautiful. It really is. We're all looking better ourselves. And it's giving like a little Halloween feel, right, with that orange. for our big Like It or Not show that happens in about 51 minutes at Markov's. That's right. You ever been out there? I have not. Yeah, I actually haven't either, but, I mean, it's wonderful. It looks great, Kenneth. It's a good night for it, and we are getting right into spooky season here with perfect weather this weekend, the weekend before Halloween, so it would be perfect to visit Markov's or do any other fall favorite events. The week's going to wrap up a little bit cooler as the front comes through tomorrow. Today was stunning, as all week has been. 70 was the high temperature at Reagan, 68 Dulles and 69 at BWI, temperatures right now sitting in the 60s, but as we know we're about to move past sunset in about 10 minutes and then those temperatures fall off very quickly so clear skies overhead tonight, we're back into the 40s it'll be a bit breezy at times again a front will come through dry, maybe just a little cloud cover in the early morning hours but we'll get that breeze once again in the afternoon temperatures only in the low 60s for highs tomorrow and Saturday but we'll be on another upswing into Monday. The weather stays fair and nice. Much more coming up in your full seven-day Kenneth? All right, Caitlin, see you in a bit