Candidate from New Mexico receives 80-year imprisonment due to convictions in gun attacks on officials' residences.
In December 2022 and January 2023, a series of drive-by shootings targeted the homes of state and local lawmakers in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The attacks, which occurred after President Donald Trump and his allies questioned the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, targeted officials beyond the state House speaker, including two county commissioners.
A former Republican candidate named Solomon Penña was convicted this year for orchestrating these shootings. The targets of the shootings included the current state House speaker, and no one was injured, but a bullet passed through the bedroom of a state senator's 10-year-old daughter.
Penña was convicted earlier in 2025 on 13 felony charges related to the shootings, which were in retaliation for the officials' certification of the 2022 election, in which Penña lost by nearly 50 percentage points. He was sentenced on August 14, 2025, to 80 years in federal prison.
However, Penña's lawyers have indicated that he will appeal the conviction. They have maintained that he is innocent of the charges and that he was not involved in the shootings. Serious issues about the propriety of the prosecution will be addressed during the appeal.
Prosecutors had sought a 90-year sentence for Penña. They are relying on the testimony of two men who have accepted plea agreements in exchange for leniency. Two other men who helped Penña with the attacks have also pleaded guilty to federal charges and received yearslong prison sentences.
As of now, there are no available details regarding Penña's appeal case following his conviction and sentencing. The public awaits further developments in this high-profile case.
[1] [News Source 1] [2] [News Source 2]
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