Man pleads guilty to attacks on New Mexico Democrats

(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)