A failed political New Mexico candidate was sentenced to 80 years in federal prison on Wednesday for his convictions in a series of drive-by shootings at the homes of state and local lawmakers in Albuquerque in the aftermath of the 2020 election. A jury convicted former Republican candidate Solomon Pena earlier this year of conspiracy, weapons, and other charges in the shootings in December 2022 and January 2023 on the homes of four Democratic officials, including the current state House speaker, the AP reports.
Prosecutors, who had sought a 90-year sentence, said Pena has shown no remorse and had hoped to cause political change by terrorizing people who held views contrary to his into being too afraid to take part in political life. Pena's lawyers had sought a five-year sentence, saying their client maintains that he is innocent of the charges. They have said that Pena was not involved in the shootings and that prosecutors were relying on the testimony of two men who bear responsibility and accepted plea agreements in exchange for leniency.
The attacks took place as threats and acts of intimidation against election workers and public officials surged across the country after President Trump and his allies called into question the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. Prosecutors said Pena resorted to violence in the belief that a "rigged" election had robbed him of victory in his bid for the state Legislature. The shootings targeted the homes of officials including two county commissioners after their certification of the 2022 election, in which Pena lost by nearly 50 percentage points. No one was injured, but in one case bullets passed through the bedroom of a state senator's 10-year-old daughter. Two other men who had acknowledged helping Pena with the attacks had previously pleaded guilty to federal charges and received yearslong prison sentences.