A failed political candidate was sentenced to 80 years in federal prison 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.
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A jury convicted former Republican candidate Solomon Pe\u00f1a 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. Prosecutors, who had sought a 90-year sentence, said Pe\u00f1a has shown no remorse and had hoped to cause political change by terrorizing people who held contrary views to him into being too afraid to take part in political life.<\/p>\n
Pe\u00f1a\u2019s lawyers had sought a five-year sentence, saying their client maintains that he is innocent of the charges. They have said Pe\u00f1a 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. \u201cToday was a necessary step toward Mr. Pe\u00f1a\u2019s continued fight to prove his innocence," said Nicholas Hart, one of Pe\u00f1a\u2019s attorneys. "He looks forward to the opportunity to appeal, where serious issues about the propriety of this prosecution will be addressed.\u201d<\/p>\n
The attacks took place as threats and acts of intimidation against election workers and public officials surged across the country after President Donald Trump and his allies called into question the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. Prosecutors said Pe\u00f1a resorted to violence in the belief that a \u201crigged\u201d election had robbed him of victory in his bid to serve in the state Legislature.<\/p>\n
The shootings targeted the homes of officials including two county commissioners after their certification of the 2022 election, in which Pe\u00f1a lost by nearly 50 percentage points. No one was injured, but in one case bullets passed through the bedroom of a state senator\u2019s 10-year-old daughter. Two other men who had acknowledged helping Pe\u00f1a with the attacks had previously pleaded guilty to federal charges and received yearslong prison sentences.<\/p>\n
There are several types of voter fraud that make headlines every election \u2013 but how common is voter fraud really? Here\u2019s what you need to know.<\/p>\n
The sentencing of Solomon Pe\u00f1a to 80 years in federal prison marks a significant step in addressing the surge in threats and violence against election workers and public officials. The case highlights the importance of ensuring election integrity and the need for a fair and peaceful democratic process.<\/p>\n
Q: What was Solomon Pe\u00f1a sentenced for?
\nA: Pe\u00f1a was sentenced to 80 years in federal prison for his convictions in a series of drive-by shootings at the homes of state and local lawmakers in Albuquerque.
\nQ: What motivated the attacks?
\nA: Prosecutors said Pe\u00f1a resorted to violence in the belief that a \u201crigged\u201d election had robbed him of victory in his bid to serve in the state Legislature.
\nQ: Were anyone injured in the shootings?
\nA: No one was injured, but in one case bullets passed through the bedroom of a state senator\u2019s 10-year-old daughter.
\nQ: What is the current state of voter fraud in the US?
\nA: Voter fraud is relatively rare in the US, but it can take many forms and is often exaggerated in political discourse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Introduction to the Case A failed political candidate was sentenced to 80 years in federal prison 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. The Convictions and Sentencing A jury convicted former Republican candidate Solomon Pe\u00f1a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":19885,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-19883","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-crime-reports"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/media.nbclosangeles.com\/2025\/08\/aps-solomon-pena.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&fit=1600,900&w=1600&resize=1600,900&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19883"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19883"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19883\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19886,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19883\/revisions\/19886"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}