The failed New Mexico Republican candidate and Big Lie pusher who allegedly masterminded a series of shootings against a number of Democratic officials and their families after losing his state house race has been indicted by a grand jury on more than a dozen charges, the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office has announced.
Solomon Peña faces 14 criminal charges, including criminal solicitation to commit shooting at a dwelling or occupied building, conspiracy to commit shooting at a dwelling or occupied building, and aggravated assault, a statement said Monday. Peña has remained jailed since his Jan. 16 arrest after a judge ruled he “poses a threat to the targets of the shootings and their family members,” CNN reported.
RELATED STORY: Did fentanyl sales help fund political campaign of New Mexico Republican charged in shootings?
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The Republican is accused of orchestrating the shootings after losing his New Mexico state house race by nearly 50 points, targeting the homes or businesses of officials including incoming state House Speaker Javier Martinez, Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa, and state Sen. Linda Lopez. Peña’s full arrest warrant shows him texting an accomplice the “complete and exact address of Linda Lopez’ residence,” officials said. Her home had also been searched on Apple Maps.
Lopez’s 10-year-old daughter, Cherish, was sleeping in her bedroom when the family home was hit with a hail of gunfire on Jan. 3. Lopez tells Slate she thought she heard fireworks when Cherish walked into her room. She said that she thought a spider had maybe woken her up. Lopez said she didn’t realize their home had been shot at until the next morning when she saw the damage. The spider that Cherish thought she’d felt on her face? It was sheetrock dust “resulting from firearm projectile(s) passing inside her bedroom overhead,” the arrest warrant said. “I looked toward my bed, and on the wall, you could see what had happened. There was a hole in my wall above my bed,” Lopez recounted to Slate. “My daughter’s room is right next to mine. And the trajectory that the bullet had, it could have grazed her head if she had been sitting up.”
“I’ve had threats over the years, maybe via email or maybe somebody will leave a message on my home phone number,” she continued to Slate. “But it’s never risen to this point.”
As my colleague Kerry Eleveld noted in 2021, Republicans aren’t just pushing the Big Lie, they’re a domestic terror threat to our democracy. Peña, who previously served nearly seven years in prison for burglary and still won the endorsement of leading state Republicans, lost his race by a resounding 26% to 74% yet refused to accept the result. One Nov. 15 tweet from his official account shows him celebrating the insurrectionist former president’s 2024 presidential announcement. “I never conceded my [House District] 14 race,” Peña proclaimed in a tweet. He’s wearing and is surrounded by MAGA gear. “Now researching my options.”
“Peña’s arrest warrant affidavit identifies two of the alleged co-conspirators as Demetrio Trujillo and José Trujillo,” CNN reported. “According to a relative, Demetrio is José’s father.” While charges against his alleged accomplices are unclear, the younger Trujillo was found with nearly 900 fentanyl pills in his vehicle. Trujillo donated more than $5,000 to Peña’s campaign, while another $4,000 was donated by Trujillo’s mother. The mother, however, had denied any knowledge of the donation, saying she’s on a fixed income and is not at all political.
In a statement reported by Albuquerque Journal, a Albuquerque Police Department spokesperson said investigators are seeking to “determine whether the money for the campaign contributions was generated from narcotics trafficking, and whether campaign laws were violated.” If confirmed, it would be one of the most egregious examples of GOP projection in recent memory, because they just campaigned on turning fentanyl into an immigration issue (which it’s not).
Lopez tells Slate she’s worried about rising Republican extremism, citing threats against New Mexico’s secretary of state, and the kidnapping and murder plot against Michigan’s governor. “It’s a bigger issue across this country.”
“This happened here in New Mexico, yes, but it’s happened in other places across the country,” she continued. “And as I said before, I’m sworn to uphold the constitution of the state. I’m also sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America. And apparently the national Republican Party—they’ve got problems. And if the national folks can’t take care of it, then what are we going to do at the local level?” As I previously noted, Peña is not a GOP aberration. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene as a candidate endorsed assassinating Nancy Pelosi, whose husband was subsequently nearly killed by an intruder. But Speaker-for-Now Kevin McCarthy not only openly courted Greene’s vote, he put her back on committee. Solomon Peña is the Republican Party.
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