Prosecutors believe there were political motivations behind the shooting at a California ABC affiliate.
Retired California lobbyist, Anibal Hernandez Santana, 64, was ordered to remain in custody without bail Thursday after prosecutors said he continued to pose a threat and was a flight risk who was still in possession of a gun. He was charged in relation to a shooting last week at the Sacramento-area ABC affiliate, KXTV ABC10, in which three rounds were fired into the news station’s lobby.
Thien Ho, the Sacramento County district attorney, told the New York Times he believed the shooting “was politically motivated.” It came the day after protesters were seen outside KXTV to protest ABC’s removal of Jimmy Kimmel Live! and the Trump administration’s role in putting pressure on the network and its affiliates to cancel Jimmy Kimmel’s show.
Law enforcement officials also said they found a note inside Hernandez Santana’s vehicle, which accused the Trump administration of “hiding Epstein and ignoring red flags.” Officials also said Hernandez Santana had a note on a weekly planner that read “Do the Next Scary Thing” written on the calendar day of the shooting.
In their bid to hold him without bail, prosecutors said the note and his calendar were evidence “he may have been planning additional acts of violence.”
He was charged in U.S. District Court with possession of a firearm within a school zone, discharging a firearm within a school zone, and interfering with a licensed broadcaster. Hernandez Santana also faces state charges of assault with a deadly weapon, shooting into an occupied building, and negligent discharge of a firearm.
POLITICAL VIOLENCE ON THE RISE IN THE US: A TIMELINE OF KEY INCIDENTS
Nobody was hurt in the shooting. Hernandez Santa allegedly first shot his gun in the air in the direction of the news station and then drove to the front of the building, where he fired three shots into the lobby, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
KXTV ABC 10 is an affiliate of ABC but is not owned by the network. KXTV ABC 10 is owned by Tegna.
