Former New Mexico Republican candidate sentenced to 80 years in prison for organizing shootings of Democratic officials

A federal court sentenced Solomon Pena, a former Republican candidate for the New Mexico House of Representatives, to 80 years in prison on Wednesday for his alleged involvement in a series of shootings, which occurred between December 2022 and January 2023, against the homes of four Democratic officials in Albuquerque.

Peña was found guilty of conspiracy charges, weapons possession, and other crimes linked to the shootings, which included the homes of two county commissioners and that of a state senator, where bullets ripped through her 10-year-old daughter's bedroom. No people were injured in the incidents.

Prosecutors, seeking a 90-year sentence, argued that Peña acted because he thought he had lost an election battle. After all, the polls were "rigged," despite losing the 2022 election by a wide margin of nearly 50 percentage points.

According to prosecutors, Pena's goal was to frighten his opponents and discourage their participation in public life.

Although his client faces an eight-decade prison sentence, defense attorney Nicholas Hart stated that the legal battle to prove his client's innocence continues: "Today was a necessary step toward Mr. Peña’s continued fight to prove his innocence. He looks forward to the opportunity to appeal, where serious issues about the propriety of this prosecution will be addressed."

The defense insisted that the former Republican candidate did not participate in the shootings and that the prosecution relied on testimony from two accomplices who accepted plea deals in exchange for reduced sentences. Pena's two alleged associates have already received multi-year prison sentences after pleading guilty at the federal level.