The Republican Governors Association has released a new ad that claims New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham ordered over 700 inmates to be released from prison. The ad claims one prisoner, Chris Beltran, violated his probation but was released again. Beltran murdered his ex-girlfriend after the second release. The ad says this “never should have happened.”
The Republican Governors Association's new ad criticizes Lujan Grisham for releasing criminals from prison, who then go on to violate their probation and commit more crimes. The ad is titled “Never Should have Happened” and details the story of Beltran, a “career criminal” who after violating his probation and getting caught, was released by Lujan Grisham’s policies again.
“During COVID, Michelle Lujan Grisham locked down New Mexico, but let hundreds of criminals out of prison early,” the ad states. “Many went on to commit more crimes including career criminal Chris Beltran. After Lujan Grisham released him early, Beltran violated probation, got sent back to jail, then Lujan Grisham’s administration released him early again, despite his repeated death threats to his ex-girlfriend from prison. Days after his early release, he hunted his ex-girlfriend down, shot her in the face, murdered her. This should never have happened. Michelle Lujan Grisham is failing to keep us safe.”
The ad claims Beltran made threats to his ex-girlfriend while he was in prison. Roswell Daily News reports Beltran had called Dominique Gonzales from prison “angered at the possibility of her being in another relationship.” Court records indicate Beltran had a gun and was looking for Gonzales before he killed her.
According to Breitbart, Lujan Grisham signed an executive order during the pandemic releasing over 700 inmates from New Mexico prisons from April 2020 to October 2022. After ads from Republican Mark Ronchetti, running against Lujan Grisham for governor, on this executive order, Lujan Grisham rescinded it.
Breitbart later reported that Ronchetti said “[Chris Beltran’s] story is shocking. He was released early from prison and then he was on the phone from prison, before being released, talking … to his girlfriend saying he was coming to get her and he would get a gun within two days and he would come to her front door,” in a debate with Lujan Grisham.
Beltran has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Breitbart reports others under Lujan Grisham’s release included those convicted for robbery, extreme cruelty to animals and drug dealing. Ronchetti claimed one of the released criminals was involved in a large-scale fentanyl bust where members of the cartel told the FBI “they chose New Mexico for their operation because of its lax criminal penalties.”
