Rose McGowan Indicted on Cocaine Charge in Virginia

A grand jury in Virginia has indicted actress and activist Rose McGowan on one felony count of cocaine possession.

News outlets report a Loudoun County grand jury handed down the indictment Monday.

Charging documents say cocaine was found in a wallet McGowan left behind on a plane last year. McGowan has maintained the cocaine isn’t hers, suggesting in court papers that the drugs were planted at the behest of movie producer Harvey Weinstein. 

McGowan was among the first to accuse Weinstein of sexual assault, and she and others say he’s aggressively sought to discredit his accusers. Weinstein has denied all accusations.

In a recent cover story for The Hollywood Reporter ahead of Weinstein’s arrest and arraignment, McGowan spoke about the irony that she might serve time. If indicted and convicted, she could face a maximum of 10 years in prison. She maintained there were no drugs in her wallet when it was last in her possession. The two baggies of cocaine were found in McGowan’s left-behind wallet in the first-class cabin on a United Airlines flight after it landed at Dulles International Airport on Jan. 21, 2017.

The news comes as McGowan has been speaking out about the death of Anthony Bourdain, who was the partner to another activist and Weinstein accuser Asia Argento.

McGowan’s trial date will be set Tuesday. Her attorney, Jim Hundley, declined to comment to media.

Weinstein’s attorney Ben Brafman said in a statement to THR: “The detectives who investigated the drug charges against Ms. McGowan have categorically rejected her ludicrous claim that Mr. Weinstein planted the drugs in her wallet. Falsely accusing Mr. Weinstein of committing a crime, is something Ms. McGowan has in our opinion done before and people must take note of this cavalier habit of falsely accusing Mr. Weinstein of criminal conduct he vigorously denies.”

June 12, 10:30 a.m. Updated with Brafman statement.