FILE - Democratic Senator Janeen Sollman attends a press conference at the Oregon state Capitol, Feb. 5, 2024, in Salem, Ore.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
A man who accosted a state lawmaker, grabbed her glasses off her face and threw them to the ground during a public event pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges on Thursday.
Pedro Garcia-Balderrama, of Cornelius, pleaded guilty to second-degree disorderly conduct for the Aug. 8 incident at a town hall hosted by Sen. Janeen Sollman, the Washington County District Attorney’s Office said Friday.
Police arrested Garcia-Balderrama near the event. A judge sentenced him to two years of supervised probation.
Garcia-Balderrama was accused of confronting Sollman, a Hillsboro Democrat, over issues like data centers and immigration enforcement. Those two issues have sparked tensions throughout the county in recent months, prompting residents to fill public meetings and criticize local leaders.
The incident made headlines in August as Democratic politicians quickly denounced it as an act of political violence. Meanwhile, other progressive candidates for public office, including some activists, accused the Democratic establishment of being quicker to defend a state lawmaker than immigrants swept up in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
Sollman was voted out of office in the May primary after coming under scrutiny for her support of legislation that would have cleared the way for industrial development on farmland. She framed the legislation as supporting economic growth, but her opponents said it was favorable to data centers, which she said was not true.
Sollman did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
Sollman lost to Democratic challenger Myrna Muñoz, a democratic socialist backed by powerful unions and data center opponents. After the incident, Muñoz faced criticism for expressing sympathy for Garcia-Balderrama online, writing: “I’m glad you are ok mijo. I was so worried … .” She donated $100 to his legal defense fund, as Willamette Week reported.
She later told OPB she condemned political violence. Of Sollman, she said, “I want her to live safely here.”
Washington County Circuit Judge Rebecca Guptill also ordered Garcia-Balderrama to attend anger management, pay restitution and not contact Sollman. His attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
