An official from the Republican Party in New Mexico received an 80-year prison sentence on Wednesday for engaging individuals to perform firearm assaults on the residences of Democratic officials following his loss in the 2022 elections, according to Reuters.
Solomon Pena coordinated the assaults in Albuquerque, the largest city in New Mexico, mere weeks after his unsuccessful attempt to secure a position in the state’s House of Representatives, which is the fifth-largest among the fifty U.S. states.
He embraced conspiracy theories that portrayed him as a victim of electoral fraud, federal prosecutors indicated.
Earlier this year, Pena was found guilty on 13 criminal counts connected to the assaults on four officials during December 2022 and January 2023, including the current Speaker of the State House of Representatives.
Fortunately, no injuries occurred during the shootings, which were part of a pattern of politically motivated violence, such as the hammer attack on U.S. Representative Nancy Pelosi’s husband.
„Violence and intimidation are unacceptable in our electoral processes,” remarked Ryan Ellison, the federal prosecutor for New Mexico, in the aftermath of the sentencing.
Pena’s lawyer, Nicholas Hart, revealed that his client intends to appeal the ruling.
Two men, who admitted to being hired by Pena for the attacks, pleaded guilty in 2024.
Following his election failure, Pena pressured members of the Bernalillo County Commission to refrain from certifying the election results.
When they declined, Pena enlisted Jose Trujillo and Demetrio Trujillo to execute the shootings, as reported by prosecutors.
Unfounded and false claims of electoral fraud surged after President Donald Trump declined to accept his loss in the 2020 U.S. presidential elections.
