Federal authorities said Monday that the man accused of opening fire on an ABC affiliate in Sacramento left behind a handwritten note threatening senior members of President Donald J. Trump’s administration. The episode has stirred concerns that rising anti-Trump rhetoric is spilling into violence.
The suspect, 64-year-old Anibal Hernandez-Santana, was arrested twice in less than 24 hours. Local police first charged him with assault with a deadly weapon after he allegedly fired several shots at the ABC 10 television station in a drive-by attack on Friday.
He was released Saturday morning after posting $200,000 bail, only to be taken into custody again hours later by the FBI “under a federal hold for interference with licensed broadcasts,” according to FBI Director Kash Patel.
The Justice Department said agents discovered a note in Hernandez-Santana’s car that singled out Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Patel, and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino. The note accused them of “hiding Epstein & ignoring red flags” and declared: “Do not support Patel, Bongino, & AG Pam Bondi. They’re next. — C.K. from above.”
Law enforcement officials said the note added to a pattern of behavior by Hernandez-Santana, who posted frequently on social media in opposition to Mr. Trump and his allies. Variety reported over the weekend that his account on X included “a steady stream of anti-Trump commentary.”
Just last Thursday, Hernandez-Santana wrote: “Where is a good heart attack when we need it the most?? Please Join in my thoughts and prayers for the physical demise of our fearful leader.” In July, he warned that he was ready to “fight like hell” to oppose the Trump administration.
Patel, responding to the arrest on Monday, condemned the threats in stark terms. “Targeted acts of violence are unacceptable and will be pursued to the fullest extent of the law,” he said in a post on X.
Hernandez-Santana’s attorney, Mark Reichel, sought to downplay his client’s writings. “If you look at his social media, they’re going to say, ‘Boy, it sure shows that he’s liberal and left wing,’” Reichel told KCRA 3 in Sacramento. “So you think they’re going to overlook something like that? I don’t think so.”
The shooting came just one day after a protest outside ABC 10. Roughly 15 people had gathered in response to comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension from the network. Kimmel, whose late-night show was pulled last week, had implied on air that Charlie Kirk’s killer was a Trump supporter.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them,” Kimmel said on his show last Monday.
Critics noted that available evidence pointed in the opposite direction. Tyler Robinson, the suspect accused of killing Kirk, had a romantic relationship with a transgender roommate, used slogans tied to Antifa, and wrote in text messages that he shot the conservative activist because of Kirk’s “hatred.”
ABC News Live ran a short report on the Sacramento shooting Saturday morning but offered little additional detail.
The case underscores the political volatility surrounding the Trump presidency, as threats and attacks increasingly originate from those who have made hostility to the administration a defining cause.
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