Jury convicts failed New Mexico political candidate in drive-by shootings at officials’ homes

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A jury has convicted a failed political candidate of numerous federal charges in connection with a series of drive-by shootings at the homes of state and local lawmakers in Albuquerque in the aftermath of the 2020 election.

Former Republican candidate Solomon Peña had pleaded not guilty to 13 charges including conspiracy, weapons-related charges and interference with federally protected activities in connection with the shootings in December 2022 and January 2023 on the homes of four Democratic officials, including the current state House speaker.

The attacks took place as threats and acts of intimidation against election workers and public officials surged across the country after President Donald Trump and his allies called into question the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

Prosecutors allege that Peña resorted to violence in the belief that a “rigged” election had robbed him of victory in his bid to serve in the state Legislature.

The shootings targeted the homes of officials including two county commissioners after their certification of the 2022 election, in which Peña lost by nearly 50 percentage points. No one was injured, but in one case bullets passed through the bedroom of a state senator’s 10-year-old daughter.

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Defense attorneys say Peña was not involved in the shootings and that prosecutors were relying on the testimony of two men who bear responsibility and accepted plea agreements in exchange for leniency.

Peña faces a possible sentence of life in prison. His legal team plans to appeal.

“The verdict this evening is a travesty,” attorney Nicholas Hart said in a statement. “The evidence showed that Mr. Peña had nothing to do with these shootings. Solomon Pena was prosecuted because of his political beliefs, and because he advocated that the 2020 election was stolen and rigged.”

Jurors listened to more than a week of testimony from elected officials who were targeted, investigators and Peña’s co-conspirators. Demetrio Trujillo and son Jose Trujillo previously pleaded guilty to federal charges in connection with the shootings.

Peña was arrested in January 2023 and held since then in state and then federal custody. The weapons charges included allegations that Peña fired a machine gun in relation to a crime of violence.

A sentencing hearing has not been scheduled.