Failed GOP Candidate Arrested For Allegedly Masterminding Democrat Targeted 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 the state House District 14 seat in 2022, was detained by Albuquerque police on Monday on suspicion of bribing four individuals to shoot at the residences of two state lawmakers and two county commissioners.

According to Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina, “it is suspected he is the mastermind” behind the shootings in late December and early January. When CNN contacted Pea’s campaign website for comment, it could not locate his lawyer.

Pea addressed a legislator and a few county commissioners at their houses without permission in November after he had lost the election and claimed to have evidence of election fraud, according to police. Tim Keller, the mayor of Albuquerque, stated on Monday that an investigation had found “these shootings were politically motivated.”

The worst thing you can do when you have a political dispute is turning it into violence, according to Keller, a Democrat. “At the end of the day, this was about a right-wing fanatic, an election denier who was detained today,” Keller added. We acknowledge that we don’t always share their political views, but that should never escalate 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, primarily 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 place of Javier Martinez, the incoming speaker of the state House; a shooting on December 11 at the home of Debbie O’Malley, a Bernalillo Commissioner; and a shooting on January 3 at the residence of Linda Lopez, a state senator.

In the most recent shooting, authorities discovered evidence. According to Deputy Cmdr. Kyle Hartsock of the Albuquerque police department, “Pea himself went on this shooting and squeezed the trigger on at least one of the firearms that was utilized.”

However, the AR pistol he attempted to use malfunctioned, and a second gunman fired more than a dozen shots from a different handgun, according to a police news release. According to Hartsock, the police are still investigating whether those accused of 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 he won’t be targeting individuals this way anymore.”

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Five Suspects Tied To Conspiracy Unveiled By Police

Pea’s opponent, Democratic state Rep. Miguel Garcia, filed a lawsuit to have Pea removed from the ballot during the fall campaign, claiming Pea’s status as an ex-felon should disqualify him from running for public office in the state, according to CNN affiliate KOAT.

After being found guilty in 2008 of stealing a sizable amount of merchandise in a “smash and grab scam,” Pea was sentenced to over seven years in jail, according to the KOAT story. Pea told the magazine in September that “you can’t run from your history.”

I lacked anything besides a burning determination to change my situation in life. According to KOAT, a district court judge determined Pea was qualified to run for office. Garcia defeated him by a margin of 26% to 74%, but a week later, he stated that he “never conceded” the contest and was considering his alternatives.

“Solomon Pea sought out and hired someone to carry out at least two of these shootings for a sum of cash after the election in November. According to Hartsock, phone calls were made to the shooting locations on Monday, citing the inquiry. “In one instance, the shooting happened at the lawmaker’s house within hours.”

Republican loses election, starts shooting Democrats' houses. What's the right word for this? https://t.co/yEB1BsMlH4

— Stephen Marche (@StephenMarche) January 17, 2023

According to Hartsock, the investigation was aided by firearm evidence, security footage, mobile phone, electronic records, and witnesses present during and surrounding the conspiracy. These factors helped authorities link five persons to this conspiracy.

According to a news release from the police, detectives executed search warrants at Pea’s apartment and the residence of two individuals reportedly paid by Pea on Monday. Pea was uncooperative with the detectives, however. According to Hartsock, Pea was detained by police on suspicion of “helping orchestrate and participate in these four shootings, either at his request or he performed them, himself.”

Last week, police reported that they had a suspect in custody and had found a gun linked to one of the shootings at elected leaders’ residences. According to the department, Pea was the owner of a car driven at one shooting location.

The GOP's tolerance—and downright embrace—of extremism in their own ranks is a stark reminder of how unfit the party is to lead. https://t.co/u1QL6NVsZq

— Swing Left (@swingleft) January 17, 2023

Authorities had previously stated that they were looking into two further allegations of shooting since December close to the state attorney general’s campaign office and a state senator’s law office. According to authorities, detectives no longer think those two incidents are related to the other four.

Processing The Incredible Heavy Attack

She added that O’Malley, the former county commissioner whose home was allegedly shot at in December, was happy that an arrest had been made. “My family and I are both relieved. I appreciate the work the cops did very much,” O’Malley said to CNN on Monday night.

On December 11, O’Malley and her husband were asleep when more than a dozen rounds were fired at her Albuquerque home, according to her. When Barboa got home from doing her Christmas shopping, she said she heard gunshots. “It was frightening.

In the hours prior, my grandchild and I had been playing in the living room of my home, which had four rounds fired through the front door and windows, Barboa said in a statement. “It’s still tremendously difficult to process this attack, especially knowing that other elected women and people of color, many of whom have children and grandchildren, were also targeted.”

NEW: Albuquerque police have arrested Solomon Peña – a Republican who unsuccessfully ran for a New Mexico legislative seat in 2022 – for a string of shootings at locations associated with high-profile Democratic leaders. https://t.co/RBIFpNgUxk

— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) January 17, 2023

Barboa claimed that Pea approached one of the commissioners after the election to make a false claim about the results. “He visited my home following the election. He was rambling strangely while claiming that the elections were fraudulent.

Although I didn’t feel frightened at the moment, I did think he was acting erratically, Barboa said on Tuesday’s “CNN This Morning.” In a message to CNN, Martinez, the new state House speaker whose residence was also shot at, expressed gratitude that a suspect was taken into custody.

He added that these incidents serve as stark reminders that inciting fear, escalating tensions, and fanning hatred can have disastrous repercussions. “We have seen far too much political violence lately,” he said.

Final Lines