Republican Ex-Candidate Arrested in Shootings Targeting New Mexico Democrats - The New York Times

The authorities successful Albuquerque said connected Monday that a erstwhile Republican campaigner who mislaid his bid for a State House spot successful November had been arrested successful transportation with a bid of caller shootings astatine the homes of 4 Democratic elected officials.

Chief Harold Medina of the Albuquerque Police Department said astatine a quality league that the erstwhile candidate, Solomon Peña, was “the mastermind” down a conspiracy successful which 4 different men were paid to sprout astatine the homes of 2 region commissioners and 2 authorities legislators.

Mr. Peña, 39, mislaid the predetermination connected Nov. 8 successful a landslide to an incumbent Democrat, Miguel P. Garcia. Days later, Mr. Peña went connected Twitter to explicit enactment for erstwhile President Donald J. Trump’s 2024 statesmanlike run and to accidental that helium had not conceded his ain State House race.

Chief Medina said that a SWAT squad took Mr. Peña into custody connected Monday. The constabulary said they planned to complaint him with “several authorities crimes.” It was unclear if Mr. Peña had a lawyer. Carter B. Harrison, an Albuquerque lawyer who represented Mr. Peña past year, did not instantly respond to a petition for remark connected Monday night.

The constabulary said successful a connection that Mr. Peña had paid 4 men currency and “sent substance messages with addresses wherever helium wanted them to sprout astatine the homes.”

Mr. Peña accompanied the men to the location of State Senator Linda Lopez connected Jan. 3 and “attempted to shoot,” but the automatic firearm helium was utilizing malfunctioned, the constabulary said. Another antheral changeable much than a twelve rounds from a handgun, the constabulary said, including into the chamber of Ms. Lopez’s daughter.

Shell casings recovered astatine Ms. Lopez’s location matched a handgun that was confiscated aft a postulation stop conscionable 40 minutes aft the shooting, the constabulary said. The driver, Jose Trujillo, had an unrelated felony apprehension warrant, the constabulary said. The car, they said, was registered to Mr. Peña.

The recent shootings successful New Mexico began connected Dec. 4, erstwhile idiosyncratic fired 8 rounds astatine the location of Adriann Barboa, a Bernalillo County commissioner, according to the Albuquerque police. On Dec. 8, shots were fired astatine the location of State Representative Javier Martinez. Three days later, connected Dec. 11, a shooting targeted the location of different Bernalillo County commissioner, Debbie O’Malley. Then came the shooting astatine Ms. Lopez’s location successful aboriginal January.

Gilbert Gallegos Jr., a spokesperson for the Albuquerque Police Department, said astatine the quality league that Mr. Peña visited astatine slightest 3 Bernalillo County commissioners and Ms. Lopez, the authorities senator, astatine their homes successful November aft helium mislaid his election. Mr. Garcia defeated him decisively, winning much than 73 percent of the vote.

“He had complaints astir his election, felt it was rigged,” Mr. Gallegos said of Mr. Peña. “He approached each of these commissioners and the legislator astatine their location with paperwork claiming determination was fraud progressive successful those elections.”

Mr. Gallegos said the lawmakers were “puzzled and surprised” by the accusations, and that 1 confrontation led to “quite an argument.” The shootings occurred soon afterward, Mr. Gallegos said.

“That benignant of suggests wherefore they were targeted, perhaps,” helium added.

The Albuquerque Journal reported successful July that, if Mr. Peña were to triumph his State House race, helium could beryllium blocked from taking bureau due to the fact that of a transgression grounds that included burglary and larceny convictions. The Journal reported that Mr. Peña had served astir 7 years successful situation aft a 2008 condemnation for stealing from large container stores.

“I basal with Donald J. Trump,” Mr. Peña told the paper successful a substance message, aft declining to reply questions astir his transgression record. “I don’t privation thing to bash with you.”

Two lawyers who represented Mr. Peña successful the 2008 lawsuit could not instantly beryllium reached for comment. A spokeswoman for the New Mexico Corrections Department did not instantly respond to a connection seeking details astir Mr. Peña’s transgression record.

Months earlier the November election, Mr. Garcia asked a New Mexico tribunal to barroom Mr. Peña from appearing connected the ballot due to the fact that of the convictions, according to The Albuquerque Journal. The tribunal ruled successful Mr. Peña’s favor, saying that a authorities instrumentality that bars felons from holding bureau unless they are pardoned by the politician was unconstitutional.

As for the caller shootings, the constabulary said connected Monday that their probe would continue.

Kyle Hartsock, lawman commandant of the Police Department’s homicide unit, said connected Monday that the constabulary “have idiosyncratic who is progressive wrong this conspiracy who is talking to police.” That person, helium said, helped corroborate that Mr. Peña was astatine the Jan. 3 shooting.

Mr. Hartsock said that Mr. Peña had hired others to transportation retired astatine slightest 2 of the shootings, and that Mr. Peña had texted the addresses of the shootings, successful 1 lawsuit conscionable hours earlier the shooting took place. The continuing probe would impact “more warrants and interviewing much persons,” Mr. Hartsock said.

“We’re not astatine the extremity yet,” helium added.

The constabulary said successful their connection that hunt warrants were executed connected Monday “at the location of 2 of the men who were allegedly paid” by Mr. Peña.

Mr. Peña’s apprehension comes amid a caller summation successful threats and attacks against elected officials from some parties, and is yet different illustration of the information that elected officials successful the United States look arsenic convulsive governmental code progressively crosses the enactment into in-person confrontation.

Last year, an equipped antheral who had repeatedly showed up extracurricular the Seattle location of Representative Pramila Jayapal was charged with stalking. A visitant smashed a tempest model astatine Senator Susan Collins’s location successful Bangor, Maine. And an intruder broke into the San Francisco location of Representative Nancy Pelosi and attacked her husband, Paul Pelosi, with a hammer.

But Mr. Peña’s lawsuit is different, astatine slightest successful part, due to the fact that helium had been a governmental campaigner until conscionable weeks earlier the New Mexico shootings took place.

Mayor Tim Keller of Albuquerque said astatine the quality league connected Monday that the constabulary had “discovered what we had each feared and what we had suspected.”

Mr. Keller, a Democrat, described Mr. Peña arsenic a “right-wing, extremist predetermination denier” and said that helium had done “the worst unimaginable happening you tin bash erstwhile you person a governmental disagreement, which is crook that to violence. That should ne'er beryllium the case.”