Solomon Peña's plot to shoot Democrats' homes was motivated by false claims of a stolen election, New Mexcico authorities say - The Washington Post

Following the Monday arrest, caller details emerged Tuesday astir the alleged conspiracy, including however adjacent a spray of bullets came to the sleeping 10-year-old girl of a authorities senator. Albuquerque constabulary said successful charging documents released Tuesday that Solomon Peña, 39, who mislaid a authorities House spot successful November by a astir 2-1 borderline but complained that his decision was rigged, hatched the plot. Police accused him of conspiring with 4 accomplices to thrust past the officials’ homes and occurrence astatine them.

Peña “provided firearms and currency payments and personally participated successful astatine slightest 1 shooting,” the documents said. They alleged helium intended to origin “serious wounded oregon death” to the radical wrong their homes, the documents said. The radical allegedly stole astatine slightest 2 cars utilized successful the incidents, constabulary said.

One of the targets of the onslaught said the shootings were portion of a lineage of unit that stems from Trump’s mendacious claims of a stolen predetermination and that includes the Jan. 6, 2021, onslaught connected the U.S. Capitol.

“You deliberation it wouldn’t hap here, that idiosyncratic would bash this to section officials,” said erstwhile Bernalillo commissioner Debbie O’Malley, whose location was changeable astatine Dec. 11. “There’s been this communicative for a agelong time: If you don’t get your way, it’s good to beryllium violent. The connection came from the top. It came from Trump.”

According to the charging documents, the astir caller incidental occurred Jan. 3, erstwhile astatine slightest a twelve rounds were fired into the Albuquerque location of authorities Sen. Linda Lopez (D).

Lopez told constabulary she had initially thought the large bangs she heard conscionable aft midnight were fireworks. But successful the mediate of the night, her 10-year-old girl awoke reasoning a spider had crawled crossed her look and wondering wherefore her furniture felt similar it was filled with sand.

At daybreak, Lopez noticed holes successful the location that made her fishy gunfire. After realizing that it was drywall particulate from slug holes that had awakened her daughter, she called the authorities, according to the charging papers. The documents besides allege that Peña personally participated successful the Lopez shooting due to the fact that helium was displeased that anterior shootings had aimed “so precocious up connected the walls.”

Peña brought an automatic firearm to Lopez’s home, but it jammed during the incidental and did not fire, according to the documents.

Police accused Peña of orchestrating akin attacks successful December connected the Albuquerque homes of New Mexico authorities Rep. Javier Martinez, Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa and O’Malley, who astatine the clip was besides a region commissioner. They did not accidental whether the gunfire astatine those homes came adjacent to striking anyone. Lopez, Martinez and Barboa could not beryllium reached for comment.

Before his tally for office, Peña served astir 7 years successful situation connected convictions related to a smash-and-grab strategy that included burglary, larceny and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

In an interview, Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina said helium has nary uncertainty that Peña was motivated by Trump’s mendacious claims of predetermination fraud pursuing the erstwhile president’s 2020 defeat. Medina said Peña regularly expressed utmost views connected societal media and boasted of attending Trump’s Stop the Steal rally successful Washington connected Jan. 6, 2021.

“The idiosyncratic that we’re charging believed successful that conspiracy,” Medina said. “He did judge that his predetermination was unfair and helium did escalate and edifice to unit arsenic a means to find justice.”

Medina said national instrumentality enforcement is besides investigating imaginable national firearms violations related to the shootings, arsenic good arsenic whether Peña participated successful the Jan. 6 riots. An FBI spokesperson said the bureau is assisting section authorities successful their probe and declined to remark further.

Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung called it “appalling that immoderate radical would usage this calamity to effort to people inexpensive governmental points. President Trump had thing to bash with this and immoderate assertion different is wholly reprehensible.”

Lawyers for Peña and 2 of his alleged co-conspirators, Demitrio Trujillo and Jose Trujillo, could not beryllium reached for comment.

Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller (D) said Peña visited each 4 targets’ homes successful the days starring up to the attacks, seeking to transportation them that the effect of his predetermination had been rigged. “What’s perfectly disturbing and terrifying is that helium went from that to virtually contracting felons who were retired connected warrant to sprout up their houses,” Keller said. “That’s the leap helium took wrong a substance of days.”

Keller said it is not wide wherefore Peña did not people his opponent, Democratic authorities Rep. Miguel Garcia. He said constabulary person collected an overwhelming magnitude of evidence, including ammunition casings recovered astatine the transgression scenes and successful the recovered stolen vehicles arsenic good arsenic texted instructions, including the targets’ addresses, from Peña to his alleged co-conspirators.

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, an outspoken professional of the threatening rhetoric of predetermination deniers and a people of predominant online attacks, called connected Republicans to condemn the unit successful Albuquerque and urged voters to cull candidates who don’t.

She cited the crippled to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer arsenic good arsenic the much caller onslaught connected Paul Pelosi, erstwhile House talker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, arsenic different troubling caller examples of governmental violence.

“It’s horrific,” Griswold said. “There are truthful galore radical who person to look implicit their enarthrosis surviving successful fearfulness successful an ambiance of governmental violence. As a federation we’re conscionable fortunate that the bullets didn’t land.”

Some Republicans joined successful the condemnations. Ryan Lane, the New Mexico House Republican leader, praised instrumentality enforcement for their speedy investigation. “New Mexico House Republicans condemn unit successful immoderate signifier and are grateful nary 1 was injured,” Lane said.

The Republican Party of New Mexico issued a connection precocious Tuesday that made nary notation of Peña’s candidacy oregon his denial of predetermination results, but said the accusations against him “are serious, and helium should beryllium held accountable if the charges are validated successful court.”

The incidental besides prompted a caller propulsion for weapon control. In Santa Fe, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) called for a prohibition connected battle weapons successful an code to the authorities legislature connected the archetypal time of its 2023 session. “There are elected officials successful this country contiguous whose homes were changeable astatine successful despicable acts of governmental violence,” she said.

Peña allegedly conspired with 4 different men, according to the charging documents, hatching a program to bargain cars to usage during the attacks and past wantonness them. Subsequent investigations of stolen vehicles recovered with matching ammunition casings look to corroborate that plan, the constabulary said.

Police said they examined the cellphone of 1 of the alleged co-conspirators, Demitrio Trujillo, and recovered that Peña had sent him the addresses of the targets, and that Trujillo had past searched for the addresses connected his phone.

Peña started organizing the shootings soon aft the election, according to the constabulary report. On Nov. 12, helium texted Barboa’s code to Trujillo. A week and a fractional later, Peña texted Trujillo a transition from an chartless book.

“It was lone the further inducement of a menace of civilian warfare that empowered a president to implicit the reformist project,” the substance read.

On Dec. 8, Peña sent the code of Martinez, whose location was attacked that night, and that of O’Malley. The texts betwixt Peña and Trujillo contained plans to conscionable successful parking lots, stores and accelerated nutrient restaurants, according to the constabulary report.

The charging documents besides recounted the recollections of an unnamed confidential informant who said that Peña was not blessed that the shootings would instrumentality spot precocious astatine night, erstwhile they were little apt to wounded anyone.

“Solomon wanted the shootings to beryllium much aggressive” and “wanted them to purpose little and sprout astir 8PM due to the fact that occupants would much apt not beryllium laying down,” according to the documents.

According to the documents, Jose Trujillo was arrested little than an hr aft the Lopez shooting and conscionable a fewer miles away, aft helium was pulled implicit for an expired registration successful a Nissan Maxima registered to Peña. In summation to 2 weapons recovered successful the trunk, constabulary recovered 800 pills believed to beryllium counterfeit Oxycodone arsenic good arsenic cash. Police besides discovered that Trujillo had a warrant retired for his arrest.

Police said Peña paid his co-conspirators astatine slightest $500 for their roles.

O’Malley told The Washington Post that Peña visited her location connected Nov. 10, days aft helium mislaid the election.

“He was agitated and assertive and upset that helium did not win,” O’Malley said. Peña told O’Malley that helium had knocked connected tons of doors crossed his district, which should person led to him winning much votes. She rebuffed his petition that she motion a papers alleging the predetermination was fraudulent, truthful helium left.

A week later, connected Dec. 11, a large popular — “like a fist conscionable banging connected our beforehand door,” she said — woke up her and her husband. There were 4 much bangs. “Oh my goodness, gunshots,” she remembered thinking.

No 1 was injured, but 12 shots were fired astatine her house. O’Malley said that due to the fact that her grandchildren often slumber over, she present worries what could person happened if they had been there. She said she besides worries astir what the attacks mean for democracy.

“Someone has threatened my location and feels that it’s good to sprout astatine my location wherever my household is due to the fact that they didn’t get their way,” she said. “I perfectly blasted predetermination denialism and Trump. I couldn’t archer you what the solution is.”

Devlin Barrett, Isaac Arnsdorf and Alice Crites contributed to this report.