SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO (AP) – A failed political candidate has been indicted on federal charges in the United States (US) including election interference in connection with a series of drive-by shootings at the homes of state and local lawmakers in Albuquerque, according to a grand jury indictment that was unsealed on Wednesday.
The indictment filed in US District Court in Albuquerque takes aim at former Republican candidate Solomon Peña and two alleged accomplices with additional conspiracy and weapons-related charges in connection with the shootings in December 2022 and January of this year on the homes of four Democratic officials, including the current state House speaker.
The attacks came amid a surge of threats and acts of intimidation against election workers and public officials across the country after former US president Donald Trump and his allies spread false claims about the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
US Attorney Alexander Uballez highlighted that the shootings targetted the homes of two county commissioners shortly after their certification of the 2022 election.
“Peña targetted several of these public officials because, in their official capacity, they certified the election, which he lost,” Uballez said at a news conference. No one was injured in the shootings. But in one case bullets passed through the bedroom of a state senator’s 10-year-old daughter.
The new indictment outlines smart-phone communications including text messages by Peña in the days following the November 8, 2022, election that pinpoint the locations of officials’ homes, allege election-rigging and confide to a politically ally about plans to “press the attack”.
