A former Republican candidate for a New Mexico state House seat was sentenced to 80 years in federal prison this week for organizing a series of shootings at the homes of Democratic officials after losing his election. Solomon Peña was convicted earlier this year on 13 felony charges, including conspiracy, multiple counts of intimidation and interference with federally protected activities, firearms offenses, and solicitation to commit a violent crime.
The sentencing came after prosecutors explained how Peña planned the attacks in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the weeks following his November 2022 election loss. The shootings were a direct response to Peña’s refusal to accept the election results. After his defeat, he falsely claimed election fraud and tried to pressure members of the Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners to reject the certification of the outcome.
When the commissioners certified the results anyway, Peña escalated his response to violence, which sounds familiar. Between December 4, 2022, and January 3, 2023, drive-by shootings targeted the homes of four Democratic officials. According to Fox, the victims included two Bernalillo County commissioners and two New Mexico state legislators, one of whom is the current state House speaker.
Failed GOP candidate sentenced for his crimes
Some of the attacks involved a machine gun and occurred while the victims and their families, including children, were inside the homes. Fortunately, no one was hurt. Court evidence revealed that Peña participated in at least one of the shootings himself.
Failed GOP candidate gets 80-year sentence for arranging shootings at elected NM Democrats’ homes #Democrats #Shooting #Voterfraud #Violentcrimehttps://t.co/uV7gwc38gI
— Buckhead Atlanta(@iBuckhead) August 14, 2025
Investigators found that Peña had paid two men, Jose Trujillo and Demetrio Trujillo, to carry out the attacks. After his arrest, Peña continued his criminal behavior by trying to arrange the murder of the two men to silence them as witnesses. Both Jose Trujillo and Demetrio Trujillo had already pleaded guilty for their roles in the crimes.
A jury found Peña guilty on all charges in March. The 80-year prison sentence was announced alongside a statement from the U.S. Attorney for New Mexico, who stressed that violence and intimidation have no place in elections. Peña’s lawyer stated that his client denies the charges and plans to appeal, arguing that the prosecution relied too much on the testimony of the two men who pleaded guilty, but the sentence stood.
