The man accused of shooting up an ABC affiliate in California was rearrested Saturday by the FBI following his release from a Sacramento jail, just days after the corporate headquarters pulled late-night host Jimmy Kimmel off the air.
Federal authorities said they took Anibal Hernandez Santana, 64, into custody Saturday in connection to the drive-by shooting a day earlier in which a gunman fired three bullets into a lobby window at KXTV.
One person was in the lobby when the shooting took place around 1:30 p.m. Friday but was not harmed by the gunfire.
Mr. Hernandez Santana faces a federal charge of interfering with radio communications for stations licensed by the government, according to KCRA-TV. He is scheduled to appear Monday in federal court.
Sacramento police originally arrested Mr. Hernandez Santana on Friday night after his car matched the description of the one seen in the shooting earlier that day.
Authorities said the suspect was jailed on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, shooting into an occupied building and negligent discharge of a firearm. He posted the $200,000 bail Saturday morning and was released.
“The motive remains under investigation, and we would like to thank the FBI for providing resources in support of this investigation,” Sacramento police said Saturday in a statement.
Police said there was a protest outside the station Thursday following Mr. Kimmel’s suspension, but that demonstration was not linked to the shooting.
A LinkedIn account with the same name as Mr. Hernandez Santana said he worked as a legislative director for the California Federation of Teachers from 2013 to 2015.
And an X account linked to the suspect contained several anti-Trump posts.
“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,” the account posted Thursday.
The defendant’s suspected account was also tracking the news of Paramount’s settlement with President Trump as a private citizen.
“The authoritarian oligarchy is now complete,” the X account posted July 18. “CBS+ caving, big law firms in DC, the subservients FBI and AG, university presidents stepping down, fan boys SCOTUS, public radio, ICE goons. We are going to have to ‘fight like hell’. Rules don’t apply if election was stolen. FIGHT!”
The shooting came days after ABC executives indefinitely suspended “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” after the comedian made comments about conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination that angered broadcast partners.
Nexstar Communications Group, which runs 23 ABC affiliates around the country, reportedly threatened to pull the show due to Mr. Kimmel’s remarks suggesting the alleged killer, Tyler Robinson, was a Trump-supporting Republican.
“The MAGA Gang [is] desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Mr. Kimmel said.
NextStar agreed to a $6.2 billion merger with Tegna — the broadcast partner that operates 13 ABC affiliates across the U.S., including the KXTV station targeted by the shooter.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr warned of holding ABC and its parent company, Walt Disney Co., accountable for allowing Mr. Kimmel to make “truly sick” statements about Kirk.
Mr. Carr said the TV host appeared to be intentionally misleading his audience about the political motivations of Kirk’s killer.
Charging documents said Mr. Robinson, 22, began following left-wing ideology and fatally shot Kirk out of hatred for the conservative activist’s views.
