A failed GOP candidate masterminded shootings at 4 Democratic officials' homes, Albuquerque police say

• Albuquerque police accused a failed GOP candidate of masterminding shootings at 4 Democrats' houses.
• Police arrested Solomon Pena, who lost a US House race to a Democratic rival last year.

A failed GOP candidate in New Mexico was arrested on Monday after police accused him of being the "mastermind" of a plot to shoot at the homes of four Democratic officials, including hiring shooters and in one case potentially shooting at a building himself.

The head of the Albuquerque Police Department, Harold Medina, said during a press conference on Monday that police believe that Solomon Pena, 39, was behind all four shootings.

"It is believed that he is the mastermind that was behind this and that was organizing this," Medina said.

Albuquerque police acting commander Kyle Hartsock said there was evidence that Pena had contracted the gunman in at least two of the four shootings.

Hartsock added that police have evidence that Pena went on one of the shootings himself, and "actually pulled the trigger on at least one of the firearms that was used."

Police previously said that four shootings at elected Democrats' homes took place in recent months. Those targeted were Bernalillo District 3 County Commissioner Adriann Barboa on December 4, House Speaker Javier Martinez on December 8, then-Bernalillo Commissioner Debbie O'Malley on December 11, and state Sen. Linda Lopez on January 3.

No one was hurt in the shootings.

Officials on Monday identified Pena as an election denier and warned that the attacks appeared to be politically motivated.

Pena lost the New Mexico House of Representatives District 14 election to Democrat Miguel Garcia on November 8, 2022.

Medina said that Pena had visited election officials and Sen. Lopez after his loss, saying that he had issues with the election and that it was "rigged." He said Pena alleged fraud and did not want to accept the election results.

Pena is expected to be charged with multiple crimes, The Washington Post reported.

At the Monday press conference, police said that five people were involved in the shootings, but did not clarify their alleged roles.

Authorities said that the four other individuals, and not just Pena, would likely face charges in the future, but that police were not yet at that stage of their investigations.

Some of the individuals have been arrested, police said, while others have not yet be taken into custody. They did not give exact numbers.

Hartsock said that police were still investigating whether the shooters "were even aware of who these targets were, or if they were just conducting shootings."

Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said at the press conference that the police investigation had "basically confirmed" that the shootings were politically motivated.

"At the end of the day this was about a right-wing radical, an election-denier who was arrested today," he said, accusing Pena of turning a political disagreement into violence.

Keller further described the shootings as an attack on democracy, saying "this type of radicalism is a threat to our nation."