Failed Republican candidate charged in shooting spree aimed at New Mexico Democrats

[June 01, 2023]  By Kanishka Singh
 
(Reuters) - A failed Republican state candidate in New Mexico was charged by federal authorities on Wednesday for a shooting spree targeting the homes of four elected Democratic officials, the U.S. Justice Department said in a statement.

Solomon Pena poses for a jail booking photograph after his arrest by the Albuquerque Police Department in Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S. January 17, 2023. Metropolitan Detention Center/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY./File Photo

Solomon Pena, 40, lost a state House of Representatives race last November. After his defeat, Pena organized the shootings on the homes of two Bernalillo County commissioners and two New Mexico state legislators, prosecutors said.

The shootings, one of which involved a machine gun, were carried out between Dec. 4, 2022, and Jan. 3, 2023, with assistance from co-conspirators, the Justice Department said. The federal indictment was unsealed Wednesday in the District of New Mexico.

"There is no room in our democracy for politically motivated violence, especially when it is used to undermine election results," said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s criminal division.

If convicted, Pena faces a mandatory minimum of 60 years in prison, according to the Justice Department.

Pena, described as a "radical right election denier" by Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, was arrested in January and charged by local county prosecutors with contracting four gunmen to shoot at the homes of the Democratic officials after he visited them to dispute his 2022 election defeat.

There were no fatalities in the shootings, which followed sometimes heated arguments as Pena visited the homes of three county commissioners and state Senator Linda Lopez to allege fraud in a House race he lost by 47 percentage points, police had said.

Pena is a supporter of false theories spread by prominent New Mexico-based election denier David Clements, according to Pena's website and messages in a Telegram group run by Clements' wife.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Leslie Adler)

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