Democrats talk of fear and shock over alleged plot by Republican candidate

Police Chief Harold Medina in front of a photo of Mr Pena

A New Mexico man who unsuccessfully ran for state office as a Republican plotted a shooting spree targeting Democrats, police said.

Solomon Pena, 39, conspired with and paid four other men to shoot into the homes of four local politicians.

No one was hurt in the attacks, but those targeted spoke of fear and shock after learning of the plot.

Mr Pena, who lost by nearly 50 percentage points, alleged without evidence that the vote was "rigged".

"I am still shocked this happened," said County Commissioner Adriann Barboa on Tuesday. "Solomon Pena is an election denier. He weaponised those dangerous thoughts to threaten me and others, causing serious trauma."

Ms Barboa was one of four officials - two at the state level and two county commissioners - whose homes were shot at.

At a press conference on Monday shortly after his arrest, police said that following his loss in the race for a state House seat, Mr Pena approached the four Democrats he later targeted to say without evidence that the election was fraudulent.

The shootings unfolded in the weeks that followed. The first came at Ms Barboa's house on 4 December.

"I returned from Christmas shopping to my home being shot up, it was terrifying," she said. "My house had four shots through the front door and windows, where just hours before my grandbaby and I were playing in the living room."

A week later, more than a dozen bullets hit County Commissioner Debbie O'Malley's home.

Then in early January, shots were fired at state Representative Linda Lopez's home. Three of the bullets passed through the bedroom of Ms Lopez's 10-year-old daughter.

After news of the shootings and investigation began to circulate, Representative Javier Martinez, who on Tuesday was elected the speaker of the state House, found that his home had been damaged by bullets. He recalled hearing gunfire outside his home on 8 December, according to the Albuquerque Journal newspaper.

As well as masterminding the operation, police also believe Mr Pena fired some of the shots. They said more arrests will be made.

On Tuesday Ms Lopez told the BBC she was relieved at news of the arrest.

"The rhetoric that is ongoing especially among election deniers needs to stop," she said. "We cannot continue to have a democracy with this level of fear hanging over our heads."

Mr Pena's Twitter account suggests he may have been inspired by former president Donald Trump's false claims of election fraud.

His last message on Twitter, posted on 15 November of last year, read: "Trump just announced for 2024. I stand with him. I never conceded my [House District] race. Now researching my options."

He posted the message with a picture of himself in a Make America Great Again sweatshirt, with a Trump 2024 flag in the background.

Solomon Pena's last Twitter message, posted in mid-November

He repeatedly posted messages about "rigged" elections and sending Democrats to Guantanamo Bay, both before and after last November's election.

Mr Pena also previously posted a picture of himself which he said was taken in Washington, DC on 6 January 2021, the same day that rioters invaded the US Capitol.

Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller called the radicalism a threat to the nation.

"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," he said.

Attempts to reach a lawyer for Mr Pena for comment have been unsuccessful.