On Friday, three shots were fired into the window of ABC affiliates in Sacramento.
64-year-old Anibal Hernandez Santana was later arrested on charges of fatal weapon assault, negligent discharge of a firearm and being shot into an occupied building.
“This motivation remains under investigation and we would like to thank the FBI for providing the resources to support this investigation,” a spokesperson for the Sacramento Police Department said in a statement early on Saturday.
The shot was fired at the station headquarters on 400 Broadway around 1:30pm. The building was occupied at the time, but no one was injured.
Police were able to identify the suspected vehicle and were led to a residence in the 5400 block of Carlson Drive, around River Park, east of downtown. Hernandez Santana has been booked at a major jail in Sacramento County.
He is in custody on $200,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday afternoon, prison records show.
Hernandez-Santana is a former health policy analyst for the California Rural India Health Board. In 2019, he sued the nonprofit for discrimination and retaliation, claiming it ended after being denied leave to look after his disabled son.
Hernandez Santana’s work was related to tracking state laws and helping to implement affordable care laws, according to the complaint. When Hernandez Santana was fired in 2018, he was verbally in conflict with the supervisor and eventually called the police. The lawsuit was withdrawn in 2020.
A LinkedIn account that matches that name indicates that he was previously the legislative president of the California Federation of Teachers, and is currently retiring and working in “full-time parenting.”
X accounts matching that profile include a stable stream of anti-trump commentary.
“The authoritarian Olivia is complete,” the account posted in July. “CBS+ Caving, major DC law firms, subordinate FBI and AG, university presidents resign, Fanboys Scotus, Public Radio, Ice Goon. We need to “fight like hell.” If an election is stolen, the rules do not apply. I’ll fight! ”
On Thursday, my account posted:
Hernandez-Santana studied local and urban planning in the laws of UC Berkeley and UC Law San Francisco, according to her Facebook profile, which matches her other social media accounts.
Sacramento Bee reported that around 15 protesters had demonstrated outside the station on Thursday. Affiliate ABC10 (KXTV) is owned by Tegna, which Nexstar is currently trying to get.
“Today, we can see that the shot was fired at the KXTV station,” said Molly McMahon, a spokesman for Tegna. “Details are still limited, but importantly, all employees are safe and unharmed. We are fully working with law enforcement and taking additional steps to ensure the continued safety of our employees.”
ABC10 covered the protest in its office on Thursday, noting that it is not owned by ABC. Protesters opposed the ABC’s decision to draw “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” calling it a violation of free speech.
The show airs from Wednesday when he threatened to chase a local station for Kimmel’s remarks about Charlie Kirk’s murderer. Kimmel said in his monologue Monday that the “Magagang” was “desperate” trying to distance himself from the suspect, implying that Kirk’s murderer was on the right. Conservatives responded strongly to this, noting evidence and statements that in fact the suspects had leftist ideology.
Kimmel fans have also protested at the El Capitan Theatre in New York and Los Angeles, with the show being recorded.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom was explained about the ABC10 shooting on Friday, his news agency said in X.
“While no injuries have been reported, violence against journalists is an attack on our very democracy and must be condemned in the strongest terms,” the governor’s office said. “We stand with reporters and staff who work every day to inform and keep our community safe!”
Updated with information about the arrest.
