A failed GOP candidate in New Mexico who orchestrated a plot to kill political opponents after his 2022 election defeat was sentenced to 80 years in prison, federal prosecutors announced.

Solomon Peña, who ran for a seat in the New Mexico legislature in 2022, was sentenced after being found guilty on charges including intimidation, interference with federally protected activities, and three counts of solicitation to commit a crime of violence, the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of New Mexico, announced on Aug. 13. No one was hurt in the shootings.

"Violence and intimidation have no place in our elections," said Ryan Ellison, the U.S. Attorney for New Mexico. "This sentence shows that through the tireless work of our agents and prosecutors, we will protect our democracy and bring offenders to justice."

Accomplices Jose Trujillo and Demetrio Trujillo pleaded guilty last year on similar charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. They were sentenced to a collective 18 years in prison.

While in custody, Peña tried offering fellow inmates money and a vehicle in exchange for killing the pair, federal officials said. An attorney for Peña did not respond to USA TODAY's request for comment.

"Across the country, we have seen a disturbing uptick in politically-motivated violence over the last several years," State Representative Javier Martínez, one of the targeted lawmakers, told USA TODAY in a statement. "Every single elected leader, regardless of the office we hold or the party we belong to, must speak up against this violence and the dangerous misinformation that fuels it."

What did Solomon Peña do?

Peña ran during the 2022 midterm elections for a New Mexico House of Representatives seat covering parts of Albuquerque. He lost to the Democratic incumbent Miguel P. García, with around 2,000 votes to García’s 5,700, according to the state election results.

Peña attempted to pressure the county board of commissioners to refuse to certify the election results, and when that failed, he turned to violence, prosecutors said. He orchestrated attacks on Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa, New Mexico state Representative Javier Martínez, former Bernalillo County Commissioner, New Mexico state Senator Debbie O’Malley, and New Mexico state Senator Linda Lopez.

All are Democrats. The attacks occurred between Dec. 4, 2022, and Jan. 3, 2023.

The bullets fired in the assaults hit houses, cars, and even passed inside the bedroom of a 10-year-old girl, according to court filings and statements from police. Barboa previously told USA TODAY that she laid blame for the attack on President Donald Trump.

"People don't think that voice from the White House will reach all the way down to someone like Solomon Peña, but it does," Barboa said, recalling seeing the damage done by the bullets that whizzed through her living room and kitchen. "That year, for the whole entire year, we had election deniers coming to every meeting."

Political attacks in the U.S.

Peña’s sentencing comes amid a year that's seen deadly attacks against politicians.

Minnesota state Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark Hortman were assassinated at their home in June. Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, were also attacked the same night at their home. Vance Boelter, 57, has been charged in connection with the attacks.

In May, Israeli Embassy staffers were shot and killed in Washington, D.C. Elias Rodriguez, 31, has been charged with their murders as well as with a hate crime resulting in death motivated by the "actual and perceived national origin of any person." Staffers Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, were about to be engaged to be married.

Contributing: Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ex-New Mexico candidate gets 80 years in prison over gun attacks on Democrats' homes

Reporting by Michael Loria, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect