Suspect in shootings at Democratic officials' homes called himself the 'MAGA King' and claimed voter fraud after he lost his election by nearly 50 points

• GOP candidate Solomon Pena called himself the 'MAGA King' after losing his New Mexico House election.
• Pena is accused of orchestrating four shootings at the homes of elected Democratic officials.

The failed GOP candidate accused of plotting shootings at Democratic officials' homes called himself "the MAGA King" and said he was "researching his options" after he lost his state election by nearly 50 points.

Republican Solomon Pena ran for New Mexico's House District 14 in 2022, but lost to incumbent Democrat Miguel P. Garcia — with Garcia claiming 74% of the votes and Pena only 26%.

But Pena refused to concede, tweeting "I dissent. I am the MAGA King" the day after the November 8 election.

When Donald Trump announced his 2024 campaign a few days later, Pena voiced his support for the former president on Twitter while wearing a "Make America Great Again" hoodie and writing "I never conceded my HD 14 race. Now researching my options."

In past tweets, Pena railed against "corrupt and implicitly bias[ed]" local media and supported Trump's claim that the 2020 election was rigged.

Police believe Pena is responsible for four shootings at the homes of elected New Mexico Democrats in the months after the election, in December 2022 and January 2023.

The head of the Albuquerque Police Department, Harold Medina said during a press conference on Monday that Pena had hired gunmen to target the homes of Democratic officials, and had even fired shots in one of the attacks personally.

No one was injured in the shootings but the homes were damaged.

Pena was arrested on Monday and is expected to be charged with multiple crimes, according to the Washington Post.

"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 is turn that to violence," Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, a Democrat, said on Monday. "We know we don't always agree with our elected officials, but that should never, ever lead to violence."