Washington [US], January 18: A Republican candidate for the New Mexico state congressman has been arrested and charged with orchestrating the shootings at the homes of four local officials after losing the election.
The Albuquerque Police Department announced on January 16 that it had arrested 39-year-old Solomon Pena on charges of orchestrating recent shootings at the homes of four officials. local elected. Pena was the Republican candidate for the New Mexico state congressional seat but lost the November 2022 election to an incumbent Democrat who won more than 73% of the vote.
Police allege Pena conspired and paid for four other men to shoot at the homes of two county commissioners and two state congressmen, all Democrats. Police said they have evidence that Mr. Pena fired several shots.
After losing the election, Mr. Pena posted a photo of himself on Twitter on November 15, 2022 with a shirt that read "Make America Great Again" and a "Trump 2024" flag. He also sent a message that, like former US President Donald Trump , will not accept defeat in this vote.
At a news conference, police said Mr Pena had denied defeat in the election and had met with commissioners and MPs at their homes, alleging voter fraud had occurred. Police said many people will be charged in the shooting and several suspects are in custody.
Earlier, The Albuquerque Journal reported that on December 4, 2022, eight shots were fired at the home of a county commissioner. On December 11, 2022, more than 12 rounds hit the home of another commissioner. On January 3, three bullets fired into the home of the state congressman penetrated the bedroom of his 10-year-old daughter.
Albuquerque police "fundamentally discovered what we all feared and suspected - that these shootings were indeed politically motivated," Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said at a meeting. newspaper.
"A far-right person who denies election results has been arrested. This person did the worst thing imaginable when there was a political disagreement, which was to turn it into violence," Keller added.
The Albuquerque Journal , citing New Mexico state records, said Pena had previously been convicted of 19 felony counts, including theft and petty theft, and spent nearly seven years in prison.
Source: ThanhNien Newspaper