GOP candidate arrested over suspicion planning shootings at Democratic residences

• A Republican who formerly ran for the New Mexico legislature.
• Solomon Pea, who unsuccessfully ran for State House District 14 in 2022.
• Pea will be charged in connection with four shootings.

A Republican who formerly ran for the New Mexico legislature and believed there had been electoral fraud has been detained on suspicion of planning recent shootings that caused damage to the houses of Democratically elected officials in the state, according to police.

Solomon Pea, who unsuccessfully ran for State House District 14 in 2022, was detained by Albuquerque police on Monday on suspicion of bribing four individuals to shoot at the residences of two state representatives and two county commissioners.

According to Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina, “it is suspected he is the mastermind” behind the shootings that took place in late December and early January.

Police claim that Pea approached a legislator and a few county commissioners at their residences in November after he had lost the election and claimed to have documentation that proved there had been election fraud.

Tim Keller, the mayor of Albuquerque, stated on Monday that an investigation had found “these shootings were absolutely politically motivated.”

“At the end of the day, this was about a right-wing radical, an election denier who was arrested today and someone who did the worst imaginable thing you can do when you have a political disagreement, which in turn that to violence,” said Keller, a Democrat. “We know we don’t always agree with our elected officials, but that should never, ever lead to violence.”

Since then-President Donald Trump lost his reelection campaign and started spreading lies that the 2020 presidential election was rigged, there has been a worldwide explosion of doubt about the validity of elections, mostly among Republicans and typically without any supporting evidence. The allegations have provoked resentment and open threats of violence against local government representatives.

Pea will be charged in connection with four shootings: an incident on December 4 at the residence of Adriann Barboa, a Bernalillo County Commissioner; a shooting on December 8 at the residence of Javier Martinez, the incoming speaker of the state House; a shooting on December 11 at the residence of Debbie O’Malley, a Bernalillo Commissioner; and a shooting on January 3 at the residence of Linda Lopez, a state senator.

According to Albuquerque police Deputy Cmdr. Kyle Hartsock, there is evidence that “Pea himself went on this shooting and actually squeezed the trigger on at least one of the firearms that was utilized.” However, the AR pistol he attempted to use malfunctioned, and another shooter fired more than a dozen shots from a different handgun, according to the police report.

According to Hartsock, the police are still looking into whether those accused of carrying out the shootings “even knew who these targets were or if they were merely conducting shootings.”

Four residences were damaged as a consequence of the shootings, according to a news release from the Albuquerque police department.

According to authorities, the first shooting occurred in Barboa’s home. Barboa expressed her gratitude for the arrest on “CNN This Morning” on Tuesday.

She stated, “I’m glad to hear that he won’t be targeting individuals in this way anymore.”

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