A former Republican candidate for the House of Representatives New Mexico he allegedly hired four men to carry out attacks against Democratic officials, according to local authorities.
Solomon Pena39, was arrested Monday in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and is charged with several crimes, including conspiracy, using a firearm to shoot at an inhabited house and shoot from a vehicle.
In documents delivered this Tuesday before a municipal court, the authorities detail that Peña hired four people to commit the attacks, he paid them $500 and participated in one of the shootings himself. “Solomon sought to cause serious injury or even death to the people who were inside the houses,” the authorities wrote.
The evidence presented includes text messages and photos taken from Peña’s mobile phone, as well as an interview with an anonymous witness that corroborates the facts.
In one of the messages that Peña sent to the attackers, the former Republican candidate made a reference to a “civil war“, as well as accusations that the elections in which he lost were rigged.
In one of the shootings, bullets entered the bedroom of the 10-year-old daughter of state senator Linda Lopezaccording to the court document.
The other officials who fell victim to the attacks were Bernalillo County Commissioner Adrian Barboa; Arizona House Speaker Javier Martinez and former Bernalillo County official Debby O’Malley. The attacks took place between December 2022 and January 2023.
In last November’s elections, Peña was a candidate for District 14 and after his defeat he has repeated that the elections were rigged. According to the Albuquerque Journal, Peña attended on January 6, 2021 to the demonstration in which followers of then-President Donald Trump (2017-2021) stormed the Capitol in Washington to prevent the confirmation of the result of the presidential elections that gave the victory to the current president, Joe Biden.
Source: Lasexta
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