Bullets attack ABC Station in Kimmel’s suspension
Sacramento police confirmed three gunshots were fired at local ABC station amid nationwide outrage over the network’s decision to suspend “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
The man accused of shooting at the ABC Affiliate office in Northern California said on September 22 in a handwritten note to the left that criticized the Trump administration and the calendar reminder “do the next horrible thing”:
According to the US Lawyer’s Office for the Eastern District of California, Anibal Hernandez Santana, 64, of Sacramento, California, has been formally charged with owning a firearm inside the school zone, draining a firearm inside the school zone and interfering with a radio communications station. He first appeared in federal court on September 22nd.
Prosecutors accused Hernandez Santana of fired multiple gunshots at an ABC10 television station near downtown Sacramento on September 19th.
The suspect was initially arrested and charged with fatal assault with a weapon, shooting into an occupied building and negligent firearm discharge. He was released on September 20 after posting bail, but prosecutors said the FBI had rebooted Hernandez Santana a few hours later.
Federal claims will be fined up to six years in prison and $260,000, according to the U.S. Lawyer’s Office. The Sacramento District Attorney’s Office confirmed on September 22 that it had filed a state charge against Hernandez Santana, who has been carrying up to 17 years of more serious penalties in state prisons.
“When someone bravely fires on a news station full of people during the day, it’s not only an attack on innocent employees, but an attack on the safety of our news media and our community,” Sacramento County District Attorney Teen Ho said in a statement.
“My office will prosecute this case to ensure full accountability and send a clear message. Violence, intimidation and attacks on the free press have no place in our community or in our society as a whole,” added Ho.
Prosecutor: “Do the next scary thing” note found
The case occurred around local time on September 19th, according to the Sacramento District Attorney’s Office. According to court documents, Hernandez Santana fired one gunshot towards ABC10 station and three shots at the station.
Federal prosecutors alleged that Hernandez Santana fired the first shot “in the air towards the station” while standing on the sidewalk around the block from the station. Prosecutors added that the initial gunshot is within the school zone.
Hernandez Santana then ran towards the front of the station and fired a three-shot into the building’s lobby, prosecutors said. At the time of the shooting, prosecutors said the ABC10 employee was in the lobby but was not injured.
After the incident, law enforcement followed the suspects to a residence that was later identified as belonging to Hernandez Santana, according to the Sacramento District Attorney’s Office. Law enforcement then “run a search for Hernandez Santana people, homes and vehicles,” the U.S. lawyers’ office said.
At Hernandez Santana’s home, authorities discovered a weekly planner with handwritten notes attached to the fridge saying they would “do the next horrible thing,” court documents say.
Authorities found another note in his vehicle, which read, “to hide Epstein and ignore the red flag,” prosecutors said. The memo also said FBI Director Kash Patel, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino and Attorney General Pam Bondi did not support them and was “next.”
Mark Reichel, the suspect’s defense counsel, did not respond to USA Today’s request for comment on September 22.
State prosecutors believe the suspect is politically motivated
Ho announced on September 22 that his office had filed felony charges against Hernandez Santana. He noted that his office would require suspects to be taken into custody without bail.
Online inmate records from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office showed Hernandez Santana was held at a major Sacramento County jail and was not eligible for bail. In an interview with ABC10 on September 22, Ho called the suspect a threat to public safety.
The district attorney told the station he believed the agency had “political motivations behind his actions,” adding that law enforcement had found an “anti-Trump Book” next to a handwritten note on Hernandez Santana’s vehicle. The HO did not provide further details as to why the suspect specifically targeted the station and whether it was related to ABC’s decision to stop “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
A day before the shooting, protesters protested outside the station, denounced the announcement of the Walt Disney-owned ABC that Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show “will be pre-determined indefinitely.” The suspension follows anger over the comments the Emmy-winning comedian made on the September 15 episode about the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
On September 17th, Nexstar Media announced that it would not air episodes of Kimmel’s show on ABC’s affiliate stations, and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr appears to have threatened the network, Disney and Kimmel on commentator Benny Johnson’s YouTube show.
Network officials then announced on September 22 that Kimmel’s suspension would end on September 23. “We had our last day of thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday,” Disney said in a statement to USA Today.
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