A failed New Mexico GOP candidate accused of shooting up the homes of Democratic politicians visited officials early to contest his 2022 election loss, according to a new report.
Republican Solomon Peña was arrested Monday, accused of conspiring with four other men and paying to destroy the homes of four local Democratic officials. Albuquerque police said they are investigating at least six shootings between Dec. 4 and Jan. 5.
Before the shootings, Peña visited the homes of his alleged targets to complain that the State House election he lost was fraudulent, NBC News reported Tuesday.
“Peña came to my house right after [November] election,” Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa told NBC News. “He was quite erratic in terms of the points he was trying to make about the election and how many doors he knocked on and how the vote count didn’t add up.”
Barboa said she called the police after Peña’s visit.
“He was at my door and he was aggressive. He was an election denier,” she said. On December 4, eight shots were fired at his home.
Former County Commissioner Debbie O’Malley told NBC News that Peña also went to her house and “was upset that she lost the election.”
“He felt the election was unfair and fake,” O’Malley said, adding that he later called the police. On December 11, his house was hit by a dozen bullets.
Peña had already served seven years in prison for robbery and burglary in 2008. He was able to run after a judge declared laws banning convicted felons unconstitutional.
His Democratic opponent defeated him by 47 percentage points.
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