Judge appoints new attorney to represent Solomon Peña

Sep. 24—A federal judge appointed a new attorney for failed Republican candidate Solomon Peña following the resignation of his previous lawyer this week.

The resignation of Peña's former attorney, Elizabeth Honce, cut short the start of Peña's trial on Monday in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque.

Jury selection had been scheduled to begin Monday on federal charges alleging Peña orchestrated a string of shootings at the homes of Democratic elected officials following the 2022 election.

U.S. District Judge Kea Riggs has appointed attorney Nicholas Thomas Hart as Peña's new attorney, court records show. Hart confirmed his appointment in a phone interview on Tuesday but declined additional comment about the case.

In an order granting Honce's request to withdraw, Riggs said she held a closed hearing with Honce on Monday morning and found "good cause for counsel to withdraw." Riggs's order provided no details about the withdrawal "because they go into the attorney-client relationship."

Riggs wrote that Peña also requested a new attorney. Peña also said he needed to "check his finances" to determine his ability to hire an attorney, according to minutes of the hearing.

Honce notified the judge in an email that Peña "has an irreconcilable conflict" that required Honce to withdraw, the minutes said.

Riggs was "very displeased," because the court had brought in a larger-than-usual jury pool for Peña's trial, "which is an unnecessary expense and inconvenience to the system," the minutes said. No new trial date has been set.

Peña faces 13 federal charges, including multiple felony counts of using a firearm in the commission of a violent crime. One count alleges he used and discharged a machine gun.

He also faces charges of solicitation to commit a crime of violence, felon in possession of a firearm, four counts of interference with federally protected activities, and conspiracy.

Peña, who remains in federal custody, faces a potential life sentence if convicted on those charges.

Federal prosecutors allege that Peña was motivated by his November 2022 election loss to state Rep. Miguel Garcia, a Democratic incumbent, by a nearly 50% margin. Peña later said on social media that he believed the election was "rigged."

Prosecutors allege Peña paid two co-defendants to help target the homes of Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa, former commissioner Debbie O'Malley, House Speaker Javier Martínez and state Sen. Linda Lopez.

No one was injured in the incidents, but a bullet penetrated the bedroom where Lopez's daughter, then 10, was sleeping.

The U.S. Attorney Office, which is prosecuting the case, filed a "statement of the case" in federal court earlier this month, spelling out the allegations.

Prosecutors allege that Peña "knowingly used and carried a firearm" on four occasions between Dec. 4, 2022, and Jan. 3, 2023, in connection with crimes of violence, the statement said. And on Jan. 3, 2023, Peña used a machine gun to commit a crime, it said.

Barboa and O'Malley were targeted because they were legally authorized election officials, the statement said.

Martinez and Lopez were targeted to intimidate them from campaigning as candidates for elected office, it said.

Peña is also accused of hiring co-defendants Demetrio Trujillo, 42, and his son, Jose Trujillo, 22, to help carry out the shootings. Both of the Trujillos pleaded guilty earlier this year to multiple federal charges and face sentences of up to life in prison. Neither man has been scheduled for sentencing.