Republican told gunmen to 'aim lower' in attacks on New Mexico Democrats

A failed Republican candidate in New Mexico who contracted four gunmen to attack the homes of Democratic officials told assailants to shoot earlier in the evening and aim lower to increase the odds of injury or death, according to police records.

A failed Republican candidate in New Mexico who contracted four gunmen to attack the homes of Democratic officials told assailants to shoot earlier in the evening and aim lower to increase the odds of injury or death, according to police records. Solomon Pena, a defeated candidate for the state House of Representatives, is accused of masterminding the Albuquerque attacks on two county commissioners and two state legislators after visiting their homes to dispute his November election loss, police said.

Pena, described as a "right-wing radical election denier" by Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, was arrested on Monday. No one was hurt in the shootings, which followed heated arguments in which Pena showed the officials paperwork to back up claims of fraud in the race that he lost by 47 percentage points.

In a Jan. 3 attack on the row house of State Senator Linda Lopez, the legislator's 10-year-old daughter was awoken and felt dust fall on her face as bullets went through the wall of her bedroom, a criminal complaint said. "Solomon wanted them to aim lower and shoot around 8 pm because occupants would more likely not be laying down," the complaint said, citing an unnamed source.

The gunmen aimed high in three previous attacks and were "nervous" about the instructions as they were more likely to end in "injury or death," the filing said. Police said one assailant is cooperating with investigators.

Pena took part in the Lopez shooting to "ensure better target acquisition," but his semi-automatic weapon jammed and alleged gunman Jose Trujillo fired 12 shots from a handgun, the complaint said. It was not immediately possible to identify lawyers representing suspects in the case.

Pena has previously been convicted of 19 felonies, including burglary, and imprisoned for around seven years, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper. He posted a photo of himself on Twitter on Nov. 15 with a "Make America Great Again" sweatshirt, a "Trump 2024" flag, and a message that he, like Republican former President Donald Trump, was not conceding his election.

He was also a supporter of false theories spread by prominent New Mexico-based election denier David Clements, according to Pena's website and messages in a Telegram group run by Clements' wife. "Hang them until dead!" Pena wrote in July in the New Mexico Audit Force Telegram group in response to a claim of fraud in Nevada. "They helped overthrow Donald J. Trump."

Clements, an evangelist for myths about rigged voting machines, did not immediately respond to a request for information about his links to Pena. (See Special Report on Clements).

(Reporting By Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico; Additional Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer; Editing by Leslie Adler)

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