A criminal case reignited the debate about political violence in the United States. A losing candidate in the New Mexico state legislative race has been jailed for inciting attacks on political opponents. In the arrest warrant for republican Salomão Pena, released yesterday by the news channel CNN, Pena is accused of instigating four men to murder four democratic politicians. No one was injured in the attacks.
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, a Democrat, said he assumed the crime was politically motivated based on the results of the investigation. It is an attack on democracy. “This type of radicalism is a threat to our nation,” Keller said.
Election result not accepted
In the November election for the New Mexico House of Representatives, Pena was clearly defeated by his Democratic opponent. In the short message service Twitter, Pena announced that he did not accept the result of the election and expressed solidarity with the former president of the United States, Donald Trump.
To this day, Trump also does not recognize his defeat in the 2020 presidential election and continues to publicize his allegations of voter fraud. A House of Representatives committee of inquiry blamed Trump for the January 6, 2021 storming of the United States Capitol. Critics accuse Trump of inciting others to political violence through his posturing.