A Democratic lawmaker in Virginia who attempted to stop police from arresting protesters damaging a Confederate monument in Portsmouth, Va., is asking a judge to throw out the felony charges she faces after her own arrest.

The Virginian-Pilot reported Thursday that state Sen. Louise Lucas (D) argued in court documents filed last week that her arrest was the result of “an illegal and unsanctioned police action.”

Lucas's lawyers argued specifically that investigations of a state lawmaker or leader must involve the state's attorney general, governor or a grand jury.

“Permitting any rogue local law enforcement agency to investigate an elected official without oversight would create a system whereby localities could attempt to intimidate and influence state officials at will,” her lawyers reportedly argued.

Lucas faces two felony charges over the June protest during which the Portsmouth Confederate monument, an obelisk surrounded by statues, was damaged in an incident where protesters beheaded the stone statues and toppled one, seriously injuring one demonstrator.

She is charged with conspiracy to commit a felony and damage to a monument in excess of $1,000.

In video of the incident, Lucas can be heard demanding that officers do not arrest protesters. 

“I’m telling you, you can’t arrest them,” she said on the video obtained by local news outlets.

Protests against police brutality and racial injustice erupted nationwide in late May following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and have continued for months. During these protests, demonstrators have targeted Confederate statues and monuments, often toppling, defacing or demanding their removal from public spaces.