WEBVTT 00:01.933 --> 00:04.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% GEOFF BENNETT: Police in Albuquerque, New Mexico, have linked a series of drive-by 00:04.133 --> 00:09.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% shootings targeting the homes of local Democratic politicians to a defeated Republican candidate. 00:11.033 --> 00:13.966 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% The case spotlights the troubling rise in extremist violence against 00:13.966 --> 00:16.066 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% elected officials across the country. 00:16.066 --> 00:20.733 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% MAN: He's an election denier who doesn't want to accept the results of the election. 00:20.733 --> 00:24.600 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% GEOFF BENNETT: Former Republican candidate Solomon Pena is behind 00:24.600 --> 00:29.100 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% bars tonight in New Mexico, allegedly for a string of politically motivated 00:29.100 --> 00:33.500 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% shootings that took place after he lost his race for a state House seat in November. 00:33.500 --> 00:35.166 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% HAROLD MEDINA, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Police Chief: It is believed that he 00:35.166 --> 00:39.766 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% is the mastermind that was behind this and that was organizing this. 00:39.766 --> 00:44.000 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% GEOFF BENNETT: The charge, that Pena paid four men to shoot and damage the 00:44.000 --> 00:48.966 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% homes of two state legislators and two county commissioners, all Democrats. 00:50.833 --> 00:53.466 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% The shootings happened after Pena allegedly approached local lawmakers, 00:53.466 --> 00:55.766 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% including some whose homes were targeted, 00:55.766 --> 01:00.733 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% falsely claiming his election was fraudulent. No one was injured in any of the incidents, 01:03.133 --> 01:05.733 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% but state Senator Linda Lopez said one bullet passed through her 10-year-old daughter's bedroom. 01:05.733 --> 01:10.733 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% In a press conference late yesterday, authorities outlined key evidence that led them to Pena. 01:12.666 --> 01:14.633 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% KYLE HARTSOCK, Deputy Commander, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Police Department: The evidence 01:14.633 --> 01:16.600 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% that we have is not only firearm, but it's also from cell phones and electronic records, 01:16.600 --> 01:21.600 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% surveillance video, and multiple witnesses inside and outside of 01:23.066 --> 01:25.766 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% this conspiracy that have helped us weave together what occurred. 01:25.766 --> 01:30.533 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% GEOFF BENNETT: The 39-year-old lost his bid for the state House in a landslide. But he 01:30.533 --> 01:34.800 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% wrote on Twitter that he never conceded. A fervent supporter of Donald Trump, 01:34.800 --> 01:39.800 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Pena accused his opponent of rigging the race before polls had even closed and, 01:41.233 --> 01:43.766 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% after the election, called himself the MAGA king. 01:43.766 --> 01:46.966 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% TIM KELLER (D), Mayor of Albuquerque, New Mexico: These shootings were indeed politically motivated. 01:46.966 --> 01:49.933 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% GEOFF BENNETT: Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, a Democrat, 01:49.933 --> 01:53.233 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% condemned extremist violence while speaking with reporters. 01:53.233 --> 01:55.866 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% TIM KELLER: This was about a right-wing radical, 01:55.866 --> 02:00.866 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% an election denier who was arrested today, and someone who did the worst imaginable 02:02.800 --> 02:05.633 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% thing you can do when you have a political disagreement, which is turn that to violence. 02:05.633 --> 02:10.233 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% GEOFF BENNETT: Following all of this closely is Gene Grant of New Mexico PBS. 02:10.233 --> 02:12.300 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% Gene, thanks for being here. 02:12.300 --> 02:16.733 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% And Solomon Pena, as I understand it, had a criminal history. And there were lawmakers in 02:18.733 --> 02:22.066 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% New Mexico who tried to keep him from running because of that. Tell me more about that. 02:22.066 --> 02:25.200 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% GENE GRANT, New Mexico Public Television: Specifically, his opponent, Miguel Garcia, 02:25.200 --> 02:27.633 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% who held the seat at the time -- he was the incumbent -- he actually 02:27.633 --> 02:32.633 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% filed in court to keep Mr. Pena off the ballot because he had a felony record. 02:34.666 --> 02:39.000 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% And that felony record came, guys, from an amazing background. And when you think about it, 02:40.866 --> 02:44.333 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% he was part of a smash-and-grab ring, I mean, people who would take stolen vehicles, 02:44.333 --> 02:49.100 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% drive them through the front doors of big box retail electronic stores and steal things. 02:49.100 --> 02:54.066 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% He did almost seven years in prison with this. I mean, that's a fairly serious criminal background. 02:56.666 --> 02:59.533 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% The bid to keep him off the ballot, though, was unsuccessful. I will go back to that for a second. 03:02.166 --> 03:05.633 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% The judge stated in part that, if he's eligible to vote, he's eligible to run. He had done his five 03:08.100 --> 03:12.133 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% years of probation as well. So he was not kept off the ballot, but he lost by more than 2,000 votes. 03:14.100 --> 03:16.533 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% GEOFF BENNETT: Gene, what have the four Democrats targeted in 03:16.533 --> 03:19.900 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% this alleged conspiracy, what have they had to say about all this? 03:19.900 --> 03:23.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% GENE GRANT: You know, not a lot so far. 03:23.033 --> 03:28.033 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% County Commissioner O'Malley probably had the most compelling story of all. You mentioned in 03:30.033 --> 03:33.100 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% the setup how Mr. Pena had come -- had gone to the front doors of three of the victims 03:33.100 --> 03:38.100 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% out of the four here. And Ms. O'Malley had a very difficult conversation with him at her front door 03:40.133 --> 03:43.833 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% after he alleged that the election was stolen, he was not going to concede, 03:43.833 --> 03:47.633 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% and she was not afraid at the moment, but she was concerned enough that she 03:47.633 --> 03:51.466 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% did in fact tell law enforcement that he had showed up at her door. 03:51.466 --> 03:56.466 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Now, when you think about that, obviously, she had 12 bullets hit her home. There's a lot of 03:58.500 --> 04:01.733 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% bullets that were done here. In fact, Mr. Pena was on one of the four times -- four visits to 04:03.766 --> 04:08.766 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% shoot somebody, actually. He actually tried to use an AR. It jammed. He used a Glock instead. 04:10.700 --> 04:14.900 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% And they have got him cold at this point through records and now some phone issues 04:16.966 --> 04:20.033 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% from the folks that he had hired to do this as well. So, Democrats -- Democrats 04:20.033 --> 04:24.333 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% are rightly concerned. I should add, we had our opening of our state legislature today, 04:24.333 --> 04:29.333 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% and Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, in fact, referenced the situation in her remarks at the 04:31.733 --> 04:34.933 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% state of the state today, standing right in front of Javier Martinez, the newly elected 04:37.000 --> 04:40.000 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% speaker of the House, who was one of the four folks who had his home shot up by this man. 04:40.000 --> 04:45.000 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% So it reaches Democrats quite deeply. But there -- a lot of relief, I think, would be 04:47.133 --> 04:49.000 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% the biggest way to look at this right now. Folks were very concerned for a couple of weeks there. 04:49.000 --> 04:51.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% GEOFF BENNETT: Gene Grant of New Mexico PBS. 04:51.166 --> 04:54.033 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Gene, thank you for sharing your reporting with us tonight. We appreciate it. 04:54.033 --> 04:56.500 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% GENE GRANT: My pleasure. 04:56.500 --> 05:00.500 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% GEOFF BENNETT: And we're going to talk more now about the rise of politically motivated violence. 05:00.500 --> 05:05.466 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% For that, we're joined by Democratic Secretary of State in New Mexico. Maggie Toulouse Oliver. 05:06.333 --> 05:08.200 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% Thanks for being with us. 05:08.200 --> 05:10.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% And I want to ask you to expand on something you 05:10.833 --> 05:14.800 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% posted on Twitter earlier about this case. You said: "This is precisely how 05:14.800 --> 05:19.433 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% dangerous rhetoric and conspiracy theories promote violence toward elected officials." 05:19.433 --> 05:22.966 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Tell me more about that, how you view the threat of violent 05:22.966 --> 05:27.966 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% political speech crossing over into the realm of violent political acts. 05:29.400 --> 05:31.366 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% MAGGIE TOULOUSE OLIVER, New Mexico Secretary of State: 05:31.366 --> 05:33.333 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Well, thank you so much for having me and for giving me the opportunity to 05:33.333 --> 05:38.333 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% elaborate a little bit on this truly unfortunate and difficult topic. 05:39.733 --> 05:43.300 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% As many folks are aware, I, as an election official, 05:43.300 --> 05:47.733 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% have been subjected to threats of political violence over the 05:47.733 --> 05:52.733 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% last couple of years since the deeply troubling big lie came about in 2020. 05:55.233 --> 06:00.300 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% And I think what we can see with the situation with Mr. Pena is sort of the follow-through, if 06:02.866 --> 06:07.400 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% you will, a through line to what can happen when you have folks who are, quite frankly, radicalized 06:09.833 --> 06:13.566 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% by these notions that elections have been rigged, of course, complete lies, but, furthermore, are 06:16.000 --> 06:21.000 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% being encouraged by the folks that they identify with in the rhetoric of political violence. 06:25.000 --> 06:30.000 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% So, not only are we talking on social media - - and, by the way, Mr. Pena actually posted 06:31.900 --> 06:36.600 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% on social media earlier this year that I and some of my colleagues should be hung in the 06:36.600 --> 06:41.600 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% town square for social -- for alleged treason. So, again, he was actively engaged in the rhetoric. 06:44.933 --> 06:49.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% And then we saw the result of, of course, post-election, him following through on 06:51.933 --> 06:55.300 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% these threats of political violence and actually taking shots and encouraging and 06:55.300 --> 07:00.333 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% masterminding a plot to take shots at people's actual homes. So this is deeply concerning. 07:02.266 --> 07:05.800 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% This rhetoric is deeply concerning. It's not just about threats. It's now about actions. 07:05.800 --> 07:10.433 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% And I think the most important thing is that we come together as a state 07:10.433 --> 07:15.433 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% here in New Mexico and as a nation to condemn these threats and acts of political violence. 07:16.900 --> 07:18.766 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% GEOFF BENNETT: How have the threats 07:18.766 --> 07:22.066 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% affected you personally? How has it affected the work that you do? 07:22.066 --> 07:25.233 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% MAGGIE TOULOUSE OLIVER: Well, of course, in my personal life, 07:25.233 --> 07:30.233 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% I have had to completely change how I do things and become so much more 07:32.166 --> 07:36.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% situationally aware and create so many more protections around myself and my family. 07:38.633 --> 07:42.200 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% But, again, we're talking about not just me and not just a handful of people. In my state now, 07:44.166 --> 07:48.233 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% we have a number of elected officials who have been directly affected by not just threats, 07:49.400 --> 07:52.000 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% but actual acts of political violence. 07:52.000 --> 07:56.233 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% So, this is causing us all to have a time to come together and think about, what do we need to do, 07:58.533 --> 08:03.200 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% not only to protect ourselves as individuals and human beings with families in the future, but also 08:05.666 --> 08:09.366 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% how, again, do we address this deeply concerning violent political rhetoric to make it stop? 08:11.300 --> 08:15.166 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% GEOFF BENNETT: You have made combating election disinformation a key focus. 08:15.166 --> 08:17.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% In the couple of minutes we have left, 08:17.166 --> 08:20.700 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% how does that -- what does that work look like for you? How do you go about doing that? 08:22.700 --> 08:25.300 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% MAGGIE TOULOUSE OLIVER: So, I think the biggest challenge with it is that, 08:25.300 --> 08:30.300 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% for the last couple of years, especially, at first, especially immediately post-2020, 08:31.700 --> 08:36.000 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% it was incredibly reactive, right, sort of allegations-wise, 08:37.566 --> 08:41.466 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% misinformation being posted online or stated at press conferences, 08:43.366 --> 08:46.866 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% and having to come as an election official with skin in this game and with knowledge of 08:49.433 --> 08:53.100 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% the process to refute and push back on these lies to keep them from becoming unintentional truths. 08:56.800 --> 08:59.800 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% That's one of our biggest challenges. And now, over the last couple of years, 08:59.800 --> 09:03.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% many of my colleagues -- and, by the way, I should really make sure that I 09:03.933 --> 09:08.733 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% say this is an issue on both sides of the aisle. Republicans and Democrats, 09:08.733 --> 09:13.733 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% election officials, in particular, have had to come together and be more much more proactive 09:15.700 --> 09:19.033 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% about talking about how our elections actually work and to talk about the reality of them. 09:21.000 --> 09:25.500 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% But the biggest challenge is to talk about our personal stories as people 09:27.033 --> 09:30.633 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% and how we have been personally affected. This rhetoric isn't just 09:30.633 --> 09:35.400 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% a throwaway comment on social media. It actually impacts us in our daily lives. 09:35.400 --> 09:38.733 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% And these threats mean something to us, our families and our children. 09:38.733 --> 09:42.600 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% GEOFF BENNETT: Maggie Toulouse Oliver is the secretary of state for the state of New Mexico. 09:42.600 --> 09:44.733 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Thanks again for your time. We appreciate it. 09:45.900 --> 09:50.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% MAGGIE TOULOUSE OLIVER: Thank you.