Shooter accused in California ABC station attack allegedly planned further assaults, part of rising political violence 

Federal prosecutors say the man accused of opening fire on an ABC affiliate in Sacramento left evidence of planning additional attacks, underscoring what officials describe as a troubling rise in violence targeting conservatives.

Anibal Hernandez Santana, 64, faces federal charges of firing a weapon in a school zone and interfering with broadcast operations after bullets struck KXTV/ABC 10’s offices Friday.

The incident came just days after the network announced it had temporarily suspended late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s show. Surveillance footage, shell casings and witness accounts tie the suspect directly to the scene, prosecutors said.

Kimmel, whose show resumed on Tuesday, was suspended for falsely claiming Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin Tyler Robinson was actually a MAGA Trump supporter.

Authorities say Hernandez Santana’s actions were not random. A search of his home uncovered a whiteboard with the phrase “Do the Next Scary Thing” written under the date of the assault. In his vehicle, investigators also found a handwritten note that said, “For hiding Epstein & ignoring red flags. Do not support Patel, Bongino, & AG Pam Bondi. They’re next. – C.K. from above.”

He also posted on social media about the death penalty for President Donald Trump and wished for him to suffer a heart attack.

“I support the death penalty for Tyler Robinson,” Hernandez Santana said. “Absolutely, as soon as the fed criminal code is amended to add the death penalty for a president who refuses to step down after certified election results and/or incites an insurrection,” he added about Trump’s claims the 2020 election was stolen.

“This was not just a spontaneous outburst of anger,” one federal prosecutor said of Hernandez Santana. “It was part of a calculated pattern of hostility toward conservatives in public life.”

The attack came in the wake of Kirk’s Sept. 10 assassination and followed months of threats and violence directed at Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel. Officials say the FBI is investigating whether Hernandez Santana’s actions are connected to a wider network of far-left extremists.

Although no one was injured in the Sacramento attack, prosecutors say it disrupted federally licensed broadcast operations, leading to federal charges. In addition, the building is located within 1,000 feet of a school, triggering enhanced penalties under federal firearm statutes.

California’s lax criminal justice laws actually allowed Hernandez Santana to be released on state bail before federal authorities re-arrested him.

Vice President J.D. Vance said the shooting highlights a climate of hostility fueled by the left’s political rhetoric. “It is time to STOP the rhetorical assault on law enforcement,” he posted on X.

Hernandez Santana, a former lobbyist for the California Catholic Conference and later the California Federation of Teachers, told CBS News he is “not a violent man” and intends to fight the charges in court.

But prosecutors argue the evidence tells another story – one of premeditation and threats of further attacks against conservative leaders.

While prosecutors didn’t bring terrorism charges against Hernandez Santana, the investigation has been handled by an FBI determined to discover if a larger, organized terror threat from the left exists.

“By July 4 of this year, far-left extremists had already been responsible for five terrorist attacks and plots, putting 2025 on pace to be the left’s MOST VIOLENT year in more than three decades,” wrote the liberal Atlantic.

(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/ABC 10)