U.S. police arrest failed candidate in shootings at Democrats: media

NEW YORK, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- Police have arrested a 39-year-old man who lost a bid for the New Mexico statehouse as a Republican and later paid for four men to shoot at Democratic lawmakers' homes in recent months, U.S. media reported.

The case against Solomon Pe a, who had posted photos of himself online with Donald Trump campaign material, is one of dozens across the United States where people have threatened, and in some cases attempted to carry out, violence against members of Congress, school board members and other election officials, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.

Officials accuse Pe a of paying 500 U.S. dollars to four men to shoot at the homes of Democratic lawmakers. He went along for the final drive-by, his gun jamming as bullets ripped into the bedroom of a 10-year-old girl who was asleep, police were quoted as saying.

The criminal complaint against Pe a describes how anger over his landslide defeat in November led to attacks at the homes of four Democratic lawmakers in New Mexico's largest city. A SWAT team arrested him Monday afternoon, police said.

According to the report, Pe a spent nine years behind bars after his arrest in April 2007 for stealing electronics and other goods from several retail stores. He was released in March 2016 and had his voting rights restored after completing five years probation in April 2021.