Man pleads guilty to attacks on New Mexico Democrats
FREE Breaking News Alerts from StreetInsider.com!
StreetInsider.com Top Tickers, 10/6/2026
- Nasdaq notches record high close as investors focus on earnings
- Oil slips on rising Mideast crude exports, G7 stocks release
- Intel stock slides as TSMC explores Terafab tie-up, analyst flags share losses
- Schneider Electric to acquire PTC for $22.6 billion in all-cash deal
- Five things to watch in markets in the week ahead
Tweet
Share
E-mail
FILE PHOTO: Solomon Pena poses for a jail booking photograph after his arrest by the Albuquerque Police Department in Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S. January 17, 2023. Metropolitan Detention Center/Handout via REUTERS
(Reuters) - A New Mexico man has pleaded guilty to helping a defeated Republican candidate carry out drive-by shootings at Democratic officials' homes in 2022 and 2023 that marked a new level of U.S. political violence.
Entering a guilty plea on Thursday, Demetrio Trujillo, 42, of Albuquerque told prosecutors he was hired by failed candidate Solomon Pena to shoot at the homes of an election official and two elected state officials between December 2022 and January 2023.
Election conspiracy theories drove Pena, who had a criminal past, to recruit Trujillo and his son to shoot at the Albuquerque homes in a bid to wound or kill the officials, police said. No one was hurt in the attacks.
Trujillo faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum life sentence after he pleaded guilty to counts such as conspiracy and discharging a firearm in a crime of violence, according to a statement by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Trujillo's son Jose Trujillo earlier this month admitted to helping Pena carry out the attacks after he worked on his failed 2022 political campaign for a seat in the New Mexico House of Representatives. Jose Trujillo also faces up to life in prison.
After losing the election, Pena visited the homes of some Bernalillo County commissioners to allege the vote was rigged. He is scheduled to stand trial in June.
False and unfounded claims of election fraud exploded after former President Donald Trump refused to accept defeat in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
The Albuquerque attacks followed a rise in threats and intimidation against U.S. politicians, government officials and sometimes their families. They set a precedent when an aspiring Republican political candidate was charged with masterminding and carrying out the shootings.
(Reporting By Andrew Hay; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!
You May Also Be Interested In
- US televangelist Jim Bakker, ensnared in fraud and sex scandal, dead at 86
- Indonesia's candidate for WHO chief calls on US to rejoin agency
- Analysis-Spain's housing crisis bursts into the spotlight at snap election
Create E-mail Alert Related Categories
ReutersRelated Entities
Donald J. TrumpSign up for StreetInsider Free!
Receive full access to all new and archived articles, unlimited portfolio tracking, e-mail alerts, custom newswires and RSS feeds - and more!
