Republican organized attacks on Democrats' homes after losing the election

A former Republican candidate for the New Mexico State Legislature, who police said alleged electoral fraud after his defeat, has been arrested on suspicion of masterminding the recent shooting. The incidents damaged the homes of elected officials in the state, reports CNN.

Photo: IStock

Solomon Peña, who lost the 2022 election for the state's 14th district, was arrested Jan. 16 by Albuquerque police on charges of conspiring with four men to shoot at the homes of two state legislators and two county commissioners, authorities said.

"He is believed to be the mastermind" of the shooting, which took place in December and early January, Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina said at a news conference.

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Before the shooting in November, Peña—after losing the election—came to one of the deputies and some district commissioners at their homes with documents that, he said, showed evidence of electoral fraud.

The investigation confirmed that "these shootings were indeed politically motivated," Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said on January 16.

“At the end of the day, we are talking about a right-wing radical, an election denier, who was arrested today. About someone who did the worst thing imaginable when you have a political disagreement, which is turn it into violence,” Keller said. “We know we don’t always agree with our elected officials, but that should never lead to violence.”

Doubts about the veracity of the election, mostly among Republicans and usually without proof, have spread across the country since Donald Trump lost re-election and began spreading the lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him. The claims have ignited anger - and implacable threats of violence - against state officials down to the local level.

Peña will face charges related to four shootings: the December 4 incident at the home of Bernalillo District Commissioner Adrianne Barboa, the December 8 shooting at the home of future House Speaker Javier Martinez, the December 11 shooting at the home of then Bernalillo Commissioner Debbie O'Malley, and the January 3 shooting at the home of state senator Linda Lopez, according to a police press release.

In the latest shooting, police found evidence that "Pena himself was involved in this shooting and actually pulled the trigger on at least one of the firearms used," Albuquerque Police Deputy Commander Kyle Hartsock said. But the AR gun he was trying to use malfunctioned and the other shooter fired more than a dozen shots with the other gun, police said in a statement.

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The department is still investigating whether the suspects in the shooting "even knew who the targets were, or if they were just shooting," Hartsock added.

"No one was hurt in the shooting, which damaged four homes," the Albuquerque police said in a statement.
Barboa, whose home investigators say was the site of the first shooting, is grateful for the arrest in the case, she said Jan. 17.

"I'm glad to hear that he won't harass people like that anymore," she said.

5 people spoke

During the fall campaign, Peña's opponent, Democratic Rep. Miguel Garcia, sued to have Peña removed from the ballot, arguing that Peña's status as a former felon should prevent him from running for public office in the state. The KOAT report says that Peña served almost seven years in prison after being convicted in 2008 of stealing large quantities of goods in a "smash and take" scheme.

“You can’t hide from your own history,” Peña said in September. “I had nothing but the desire to improve my lot.”

A district court judge ruled that Peña was eligible to stand in the elections. He lost the race to Garcia 26% to 74%.

“After the November elections, Solomon Peña contacted someone and hired someone for a certain amount of cash to carry out at least two of these shootings. The addresses of the shooting were given over the phone,” Hartsock said Jan. 16, citing the investigation.

Hartsock said gunshot evidence, CCTV footage, mobile phones and electronic recordings, and witnesses involved in and associated with the conspiracy helped the investigation link five people to the conspiracy.

On January 16, detectives served a search warrant on Peña's apartment and the home of two men allegedly paid for by Peña, police said in a statement.

Officers arrested Peña on suspicion of "assisting and participating in the four shootings," Hartsock added.

Police announced last week that they had a suspect in custody and seized a firearm linked to one of the shootings at the homes of elected officials. The car parked at one of the crime scenes was registered to Peña, the agency said.

"Handling this attack is incredibly heavy"

O'Malley, then county commissioner who police say was shot in December, is pleased to have been arrested.

“I am very happy, as is my family. I am very grateful for the work done by the police," O'Malley said on the evening of January 16. O'Malley and her husband were sleeping on December 11 when more than a dozen shots were fired at her home in Albuquerque, she said.

According to her, Barboa found the shots at her home after she returned from Christmas shopping.

"It was terrible. There were four shots fired through the front door and windows of my home where, just hours earlier, my grandson and I were playing in the living room,” Barboa said in a statement. “This attack continues to be incredibly difficult to process, especially considering that other women and people of color, elected officials, and children and grandchildren were targeted.”

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Martinez, the incoming speaker of the state House of Representatives, whose home was also shelled, is grateful that the suspect is in custody, he said in a statement. “Recently we have witnessed too much political violence. All of these events are a powerful reminder that stoking fear, escalating tensions and inciting hatred can be devastating,” he said.

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