Police in Albuquerque, NM, arrested Solomon Peña, a former Republican candidate for the House of Representatives, in connection with a series of shootings at the homes of local Democratic politicians, authorities said.
Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina said Peña is accused of conspiring with and paying four other people to shoot at the homes of two county commissioners and two state legislators. He was arrested after a brief standoff with the local SWAT team.
The department has investigated at least six shootings, which occurred between December 4 and January 5. Four have been linked to Peña, police said, and the other two are still under investigation.
“It is believed that he is the mastermind behind this,” Medina said at a press conference Monday, per NBC News.
During the Dec. 11 attack, at least 12 bullets were fired at the county commissioner’s home, the Albuquerque Journal reported. During another shooting on January 3, several shots were fired in front of state Rep. Linda Lopez, including three bullets that went through the bedroom of her 10-year-old daughter.
Peña launched an unsuccessful bid for New Mexico’s 14th House district in 2022, losing by 47 percentage points to his Democratic opponent, state representative Miguel Garcia. The Albuquerque Journal notes that Peña continues to dispute the results of the race, claiming election fraud.
He faced criticism during his bid after Garcia filed a lawsuit to remove him from office because of a 2008 conviction for theft in a “smash and grab” robbery. He was jailed for seven years, but a judge ruled that a local law barring convicted felons from office was invalid.