New Mexico Republican Party HQ set on fire

The headquarters of the Republican Party of New Mexico was set on fire on Sunday.

Fire officials in Albuquerque, the largest city in Democratic-controlled New Mexico, were reportedly called to the blaze around 6 am and put it out in five minutes.

In a post on social media, Albuquerque Fire Rescue said the single-story structure suffered damage to its entryway and smoke damage throughout.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, in a statement, it was leading the investigation to find the those behind the act.

The fire comes after US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, said it arrested 48 illegal immigrants, 20 of them with criminal convictions, during raids in Albuquerque, state capital Santa Fe and Roswell, New Mexico earlier this month.

The graffiti appeared to equate the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan hate group to ICE, the agency President Donald Trump has tasked to deport millions of illegal immigrants.

At the time of filing this report, has not yet commented on the development.

“Our state leaders must reinforce through decisive action that these cowardly attacks will not be tolerated,” Republican Party of New Mexico Chairwoman Amy Barela said in a statement.

The Democratic Party of New Mexico said it condemned the vandalism of the Republican Party headquarters.

“We firmly maintain that this sort of act has absolutely no place in our democracy. We hope whoever is responsible is found and held accountable,” the state Democratic Party said on social media.

The fire follows the conviction this month of a failed Republican candidate for the New Mexico House of Representatives who carried out drive-by shootings on the Albuquerque homes of Democratic officials during 2022 and 2023.