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Rose McGowan to plead no contest to drug charge

(CNN) Actress and activist Rose McGowan will enter a "no contest" plea to a reduced drug charge when she appears next week in a Virginia courtroom, her lawyer said.

State prosecutors have agreed to reduce the felony charge to a misdemeanor of possession of a controlled substance, attorney James Hundley said Tuesday.

Prosecutors will recommend that McGowan be sentenced to pay a fine, Hundley said.

"Ms. McGowan has accepted this agreement in order to spare her family, her friends, and her supporters the emotional strain of a criminal trial," he said. "The agreement brings this ordeal to an end and allows her to focus all of her energy on what matters most to her -- creating a better world. Ms. McGowan will comment on the day of the plea."

A grand jury in Loudoun County, Virginia, indicted McGowan in June on one felony count of cocaine possession.

Rose McGowan indicted on felony drug charge

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority had obtained an arrest warrant for McGowan in February 2017, after authorities allegedly found traces of narcotics in her personal belongings that were left behind on a United flight in to Washington.

McGowan is one of more 80 women who have accused former producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment. When she learned of the warrant in October 2017, she accused authorities of trying to "silence" her.

CNN's Janet DiGiacomo contributed to this report.
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