Thus Always to Tyrants

The will of the voters is undone by the institutions meant to protect it

Virginia State Flag

Two major developments occurred back to back earlier this month. First, the FBI raid on the office of Louise Lucas, who is a leading Democrat in the Virginia State Senate, a body for which she is the president pro tempore. Second, a court’s decision to overturn a redistricting referendum. That would be the Virginia Supreme Court overturning the will of the people to redraw the electoral maps.

These may look like unrelated issues, but they are not.

When federal agents raided Lucas’s office, it was because she spearheaded the state’s voter approved redistricting referendum. Then the Virginia Supreme Court, in a four to three decision, handed Republicans a major advantage heading into the 2026 midterms by deciding that that voter approved referendum was unconstitutional, at least according to Virginia’s constitution.

We cannot let anybody tell us that these events are unrelated. This is how democratic erosion works in real time. One institution, in this case the judiciary, strips away the will of the voters, while another, in this case the FBI, raids a politician’s office for making a decision the federal government does not like. This sends a chilling message to anyone who might stand up for Americans’ rights.

Scott MacFarlane, CNN’s Chief Washington reporter, had this to say:

Let’s start with the timing, because the timing is about as subtle as a ballpeen hammer to the face. This happens about fifteen days after Louise Lucas was a political force of nature and muscled through that redrawing of the lines in Virginia, which could flip four seats from Republicans to Democrats. And it is happening as the president’s allies want other states to respond in kind, emboldened by the Supreme Court. They want Tennessee to move, Mississippi to move, South Carolina to move. So the timing is a little suspicious. That notwithstanding, Louise Lucas is a power broker. She is not just any state senator. And because the FBI appears very clearly to have invited Fox News along to amplify this, to broadcast this raid, to share the images nationwide, they are trying to send some form of a message, notwithstanding whatever case they have.

If this were such a top secret FBI mission to raid a Democratic politician’s office, why was that information leaked to Fox ahead of time?

When Donald was asked whether he was aware of the FBI raid on Senator Lucas’s office, this was his response:

I’m not aware of it. It was yesterday. Not aware of it. No.

Who? Louise who? What? Yes, he is totally aware of it. How do we know this? We are only speculating, of course, but who else would order it?

In late April, Virginia voters went to the polls and approved a redistricting measure by more than one hundred thousand votes. The proposed map, backed by Democratic leaders including Governor Abigail Spanberger and former President Barack Obama, would likely have shifted the state’s congressional delegation from its current six to five Democratic split to a ten to one advantage.

That kind of shift matters enormously in a House majority as narrow as the one we currently have.

This effort drew tens of millions of dollars into the state and represented one of the most meaningful Democratic wins in the redistricting battles that Donald set in motion when he urged Texas Republicans to redraw their congressional lines in their favor.

So let’s be clear about what this was about. This was not about Democrats wanting to cheat and steal seats from Republicans. It was about re-leveling the playing field after Republicans were trying to get an unfair advantage by redrawing congressional maps in a non-consensus year, which will not happen until 2030.

Donald ordered Texas to do it anyway. They complied, and many other red states followed. This was an example of Democrats finally, once and for all, fighting back and winning.

Then the Virginia Supreme Court threw it out.

Donald had this to say:

There is a lot of cheating going on in Virginia, frankly. And they were leading all day long. We were leading, meaning I guess you would call it the Republicans. And I said, when did you see the end? All of a sudden there was a ballot drop. But the courts have taken it up and they are looking at it very strongly. A lot of people said it is totally unconstitutional.

Yes, because remember the gospel according to Donald. If Donald wins, he won fairly. If he or his party loses, it is because the other side cheated.

Writing for the four to three majority, Justice D. Arthur Kelsey ruled that Democratic legislators had submitted the proposed constitutional amendment to voters in a manner that violated state law. Whether one agrees with the procedural reasoning or not, the practical effect is clear. A map that Virginia voters approved by a wide margin will not be used in the upcoming midterms. The older map, the one used in 2024, will remain in place.

So Texas gets to cheat. Alabama gets to cheat. Virginia does not get to do what it would need to do in order to render that cheating null and void.

Republicans who funded the legal challenges through the National Republican Congressional Committee will almost certainly net seats because of this.

And of course, Donald had to celebrate the decision on social media, writing that it was a huge win for the Republican Party and America in Virginia. The NRCC Chair, Richard Hudson, wrote that Virginia Democrats’ corrupt scheme to rig the map had been crushed in court, restoring fairness and protecting the future of the Commonwealth.

That is audacious, considering this was a voter approved referendum, not some corrupt scheme, and it ignores the corrupt schemes unfolding in Texas and other red states in the South.

Meanwhile, here is what Senator Lucas had to say about the raid on her office:

Today’s actions by federal agents are about far more than one state senator. They are about power and who is allowed to use it on behalf of the people. What we saw fits a clear pattern from this administration. When challenged, they try to intimidate and silence the voices who stand up to them. Just two weeks ago, Virginia sent a powerful message when they voted to stop Donald’s scheme to manipulate the 2026 midterm elections. I was proud to help lead that effort and I have never been afraid to stand up to Donald Trump or anyone else who has tried to undermine our democracy. I am not backing down and I will keep fighting for the people of Portsmouth and the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed only that agents were conducting a criminal investigation, but declined to elaborate. Fox State TV, however, had live footage from the scene and described it as an FBI corruption investigation before any public court filings existed.

The point, obviously, was to create spectacle and send a message to anybody who would dare stand up to the Trump regime.

State Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell said the following:

Senator Louise Lucas is an outspoken and historic figure in Virginia politics and has not been charged with a single crime. Donald Trump has made clear that he intends to target the Commonwealth of Virginia for voting against him in 2024 and has already obliterated the Department of Justice’s historical independence to attack our state and his enemies.

Virginia has been a Democratic leaning state in presidential elections, and it handed Donald a political defeat at the ballot box. Donald could not allow that to stand.

The redistricting referendum was a direct threat to Republican House incumbents and to the broader gerrymandering project that Donald started and has been championing. That is what triggered a federal raid on one of the referendum’s most vocal proponents, who also happens to be a strong Black woman.

Governor Spanberger and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries both said that they would leave no stone unturned to reverse the court’s decision and ensure that the voter approved referendum would stand. They said they would do anything in their power.

That did not happen.

Virginia decided not to go nuclear and not to follow the procedure that would have allowed them to force the resignation of some of the justices on the Virginia Supreme Court.

So once again, Democrats fail us. Democrats with the power to do something fail us.

And to them, I would say this. Unless you can get your head around what is really at stake in this country right now, get out of our way.