A second individual has confessed to federal charges related to a series of drive-by shootings at the residences of state and local lawmakers in Albuquerque following the 2022 election, according to an announcement made by the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office on Friday. Raul Bujanda, the special agent in charge of the FBI Albuquerque field office, revealed these developments in a news release. Authorities allege that these attacks were orchestrated by former Republican candidate Solomon Peña, who made baseless claims of election rigging after his defeat in November 2022. Peña, who maintains his innocence, is scheduled to stand trial in June. The shootings, which targeted four Democratic officials, including the current state House speaker, occurred in December 2022 and January 2023. They were part of a larger wave of threats and intimidation against election workers and public officials nationwide, fueled by false allegations regarding the 2020 presidential election made by former President Donald Trump and his supporters. Demetrio’s son, Jose Louise Trujillo, had previously pleaded guilty to charges related to the shootings. Alexander Uballez, the U.S. attorney in Albuquerque, stated that the attacks specifically targeted the homes of two county commissioners shortly after they certified the 2022 election results, in which Peña had lost his bid for a seat in the state Legislature. Although no injuries were reported, bullets did pass through the bedroom of a state senator’s 10-year-old daughter. In response to these incidents, New Mexico lawmakers passed legislation that imposes severe penalties for intimidating election regulators and allows certain public officials and political candidates to withhold their home addresses from government websites. The Associated Press holds the copyright for this article.
A second defendant has pleaded guilty to federal charges in connection with a series of drive-by shootings at the homes of state and local lawmakers in Albuquerque after the 2022 election. The attacks were allegedly orchestrated by former Republican candidate Solomon Peña, who claimed that the vote had been rigged against him. Peña maintains his innocence, and his trial is scheduled for June. The shootings targeted the homes of Democratic officials and occurred amid a surge of threats and acts of intimidation against elections workers and public officials across the country. No one was injured, but bullets passed through the bedroom of a state senator’s 10-year-old daughter. New Mexico state lawmakers have since enacted legislation to provide felony sanctions for intimidation of election regulators and allow some public officials and political candidates to keep their home address off government websites.
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