A failed New Mexico political candidate has been indicted on a charge of allegedly organizing and carrying out a plan to shoot at the houses of Democrats and officials who certified his losing election.
Solomon Peña and co-conspirators Demetrio Trujillo and Jose Trujillo have been formally charged with conspiracy along with interference with elections and several firearms offenses that include the use of a machine gun, according to indictment paperwork unsealed Wednesday. Investigators say text messages and data from cellphones show how they formed their violent plan.
“My client maintains his innocence. He’s very adamant about that,” Peña’s attorney, Elizabeth Honce, told The Washington Post on Wednesday.
Peña, a 40-year-old Republican, lost a race for a state House seat in November by a nearly 2-to-1 margin. He complained that his defeat was rigged, echoing right-wing conspiracy theories of election fraud. Peña visited the homes of multiple county commissioners and urged them not to certify the election results, according to prosecutors.
After commissioners certified the election, Peña allegedly hired Demetrio and Jose Trujillo to help with the shooting plot. The trio is accused of shooting into the Albuquerque homes of two Bernalillo County commissioners who certified the election and two New Mexico state legislators, state Sen. Linda Lopez and state Rep. Javier Martínez, both Democrats, between Dec. 4 and Jan. 3.
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