SANTA FE, N.M. — A former state senator says he was threatened by New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham through an emissary with “escalating consequences” if he did not withdraw a request by his law firm for public records concerning the administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a lawsuit filed this week.
Attorney and former legislator Jacob Candelaria of Albuquerque filed the complaint with a state District Court in Albuquerque, renewing a 2020 request for email correspondence among advisors to the governor, Lujan’s travel records and more under provisions of the state Inspection of Public Records Act.