Who Is Solomon Pena? Ex-GOP Candidate Arrested Over Shootings At New Mexico Democrats' Homes

A former Republican candidate who contested and lost in the November midterm elections from New Mexico is now in police custody. Solomon Pena was arrested Monday for being the "mastermind" behind a recent string of shootings targeting Democratic lawmakers' homes in Albuquerque.

Albuquerque Police Department's (APD) SWAT team surrounded a condominium complex near the ABQ BioPark Zoo around 5 p.m. ET to execute a search warrant for Pena. He was believed to be armed. Pena was arrested within an hour.

He was accused of hiring and paying four men to shoot at the homes of two county commissioners and two state legislators in December and early January, Police Chief Harold Medina said, ABQJournal reported. He was allegedly present to oversee one of the shootings.

Who is Solomon Pena?

The Republican is a staunch supporter of former president Donald Trump and wears his MAGA pride on his sleeve. He called himself the "MAGA King" in one of his tweets.

Following in the footsteps of his idol, Pena claimed the results of the 2022 midterm elections, which he lost, were rigged and refused to concede, ABC News reported. He was the GOP candidate for New Mexico House District 14 and lost the race to Rep. Miguel Garcia.

"Trump just announced for 2024. I stand with him. I never conceded my HD 14 race. Now researching my options," he tweeted after the results were announced.

He later showed up unannounced at the homes of three of the targeted officials and complained that the election results were fraud and shouldn't be certified.

Police previously said eight bullets were shot at Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa's home on Dec. 4 and 12 rounds were fired at County Commissioner Debbie O'Malley's residence on Dec. 11. Pena had shown up at both their homes, unannounced, to complain about the elections.

Rep. Linda Lopez's Southwest Albuquerque home was targeted on Jan. 3 and three bullets went through her 10-year-old daughter's bedroom. Pena had also shown up at Sen. Lopez's home days after the election.

Following the police disclosure, Rep. Javier Martinez got his home inspected and found it had sustained damages from bullets. Martinez told police he heard gunfire outside his home on Dec. 8.

APD acting Cmdr. Kyle Hartsock said detectives have a lot of evidence right from electronic and cellphone records to video footage and accounts from witnesses "inside and outside of this conspiracy that helped us weave together what occurred." He also said Pena was at Sen. Lopez's home when the shooting happened, ABQJournal reported.

A ShotSpotter notification reportedly led police to Pena. About 40 minutes after the shooting at Lopez's home, Jose Trujillo – one of the four men believed to have been hired by Pena – was pulled over by the Bernalillo County Sheriff's deputies. He was driving a Nissan Maxima that belonged to Pena. While he wasn't arrested for the shooting, police had found drugs inside his car, along with two guns – a Glock handgun with a drum magazine and an AR pistol.

Shell casings outside Lopez's home matched the confiscated guns, police said. Hartsock said Pena had fired at least one of the guns at Lopez's home.