SACRAMENTO — A man suspected of firing a gun into the ABC affiliate’s office in California’s capital had written notes in his car that were critical of Donald Trump’s administration and a calendar reminder on his fridge to “do the next scary thing,” prosecutors said Monday.
Nobody was hurt in the shooting Friday into the lobby of the studios of ABC10 near downtown Sacramento. Local authorities arrested Anibal Hernandez Santana, 64, late Friday on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and shooting into an occupied building. He was released hours later on $200,000 bail.
Hernandez Santana was rearrested Saturday night by the FBI and also will face federal charges related to interfering with a federally licensed station and discharging a firearm within a school zone. His defense attorney, Mark Reichel, said Hernandez Santana would plead not guilty in both the state and federal cases. He’s next due back in court Thursday.
“He is innocent unless and until he is found otherwise,” Reichel said in a statement.
Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho said investigators found a calendar note on Hernandez Santana’s refrigerator stating, “Do the next scary thing” and dated Sept. 19, the day of the shooting.
A search of the suspect’s car turned up an anti-Trump book, Ho said Monday. Authorities also found a handwritten note that said. “For hiding Epstein and ignoring red flags,” Ho said. The note mentioned FBI Director Kash Patel, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino and Attorney General Pam Bondi, saying they were “next,” prosecutors said.
Evidence points to a politically motivated crime and “it appears that he was also looking at other places, other people,” Ho said. But he didn’t say why prosecutors believe Hernandez Santana targeted the ABC affiliate specifically or whether it might have been related to ABC’s suspension of late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel over comments made about Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
ABC10 is an affiliate of ABC but not owned by the network. It is owned by Tegna.
The district attorney said his office will seek to hold Hernandez Santana with no bail.
Hernandez Santa first shot into the air in the direction of the TV station and then drove to the front of the building and fired three shots into the lobby, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Bill Essayli, acting U.S. attorney in Southern California, criticized Hernandez Santana’s quick release on bail before he was later arrested by the FBI.
“Welcome to California, where someone can commit attempted murder and be back on the streets the same day,” Essayli posted Saturday on X.
Reichel, the suspect’s defense attorney, said he believes the federal government will use the case to make a political point. ABC10 reported the suspect had social media posts critical of the Trump administration.
“I am certain the Trump administration and his DOJ dislikes his political posts on social media, and they will take any opportunity to take a state crime committed by someone who is considered ‘liberal’ and make it a federal offense to use it as political fodder for their never ceasing attempts to demonize those who disagree with the President’s policies,” Reichel said in an email.
Reichel said Hernandez Santana had a career as a lobbyist in the state Legislature and he had retired in the past few years.