This is the kind of post-election violence that the authorities feared in the current tense climate. A former Republican legislative candidate in New Mexico, United States, accused of paying men to shoot at the homes of four Democrats, was arrested on Monday.
Solomon Pena, who failed to win a seat in the election, is accused of organizing the shootings at the homes of two county commissioners and two state legislators.
He “is charged with conspiring” and “paying off four other men to shoot the homes of four Democratic politicians,” Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina tweeted. According to CBS News, Solomon Pena was being held in police custody after being apprehended by SWAT at his home in the southwest of the city.
No injuries
The shootings, which took place between December 4 and January 3, detailed the police, caused no injuries. On January 3, bullets hit the home of Senator Linda Lopez, three of which flew through her 10-year-old daughter’s bedroom window.
Albuquerque police said they expect charges to be brought against the other men believed to have been paid to conduct the shootings. Authorities say Pena himself pulled the trigger on a semi-automatic rifle in the latest attack, but the gun did not fire.
According to NBC News, Gilbert Gallegos, a police spokesman, said Solomon Pena believed he lost the November election due to fraud. On social networks, he repeated that the ballot, which he lost by 47 points (73.6% against 26.4%) had been “rigged”, just like the presidential election of 2020.