adminA Sacramento man identified by prosecutors as Anibal Hernandez Santana allegedly opened fire at the ABC10 affiliate in downtown Sacramento on September 19, 2025, prompting federal charges to be filed days later. The Justice Department says he faces counts for possessing and discharging a firearm in a school zone and interfering with a radio communication station — charges that underline how seriously federal authorities are treating the incident.
According to court filings, Santana first fired a shot into the air from a spot inside a school zone and then drove to the station and fired three shots into the lobby while an employee was inside, miraculously causing no injuries. Local police arrested him Friday and released him on bail, only for the FBI to re-arrest him the following night as federal investigators moved in. These are the kinds of facts that should make every American uneasy about both public safety and how our justice system responds.
Investigators reportedly found a chilling handwritten planner entry on his refrigerator that read “Do the Next Scary Thing,” dated the day of the shooting, and a note in his car naming public figures and warning that they were “next.” Authorities also discovered anti-Trump material in his vehicle, raising the possibility of political motivation behind the attack — a reminder that ideological rage can fuel real-world violence from anywhere on the political spectrum.
Let’s be clear: ABC10 is an affiliate station serving Sacramento, and no one should cheer or downplay a person firing on a newsroom. Yet the mainstream media that trots out sanctimony about political violence must be held to account when its own outlets push narratives and personalities that ratchet up public anger. The American people deserve honest coverage, not selective outrage that pretends one side owns the monopoly on decency.
A separate, conservative concern is the chaotic handling of the initial arrest and release on bail, followed by a swift federal re-arrest — a sequence that raises questions about coordination between local and federal authorities and whether politics is coloring prosecutorial decisions. The Justice Department’s quick federalization of the case will please some and alarm others who worry about uneven application of federal resources, especially when federal charges like “interfering with a radio communication station” are invoked in politically freighted contexts.
Hardworking Americans want two guarantees from their leaders: safety and equal justice. We should demand that law enforcement pursue violent threats with vigor while also insisting that prosecutions be even-handed and not appear as political theater. Above all, conservatives will continue to defend free speech and lawful dissent while condemning any criminal act that uses ideology as a cover for violence.
