Exploring the aftermath of political violence and its potential implications.
We’re more than a week out from the assassination of Charlie Kirk and all but the most die hard online leftists have come around to the fact that his shooter was on the left and seems to have been motivated by left-wing political concerns. Frankly, it’s not clear if the truth has penetrated to the party’s base. As of last weekend, many of them were still convinced the shooter was right-wing. Given the partisan bubble they live in, many of them may still believe that even now.
To say that reality isn’t going down well on the left is putting it mildly. It has been a tough 10 days for many of these folks, not just because of the assassination but the reaction to their celebratory responses to it as well. People are being expelled from schools and losing jobs. The most prominent example is Jimmy Kimmel who was pulled off the air this week. That prompted a small protest at an ABC affiliate in Sacramento:
On Thursday, about 15 people had joined the protest outside the ABC 10 offices after ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s late night show. “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” was taken off-air, following pressure from the Trump administration after remarks Kimmel made related to the slaying of conservative activist Charlie Kirk last week in Utah.
The following day, Friday, someone fired three bullets through a window at the same station. This happened in the early afternoon while there were people working inside the building, but fortunately no one was hurt. A 64-year-old man named Anibal Hernandez-Santana was arrested and Variety dug into his background.
Hernandez-Santana is a former health policy analyst for the California Rural Indian Health Board. In 2019, he sued the non-profit group for discrimination and retaliation, alleging that he was terminated after being denied time off to care for his disabled son.
A LinkedIn account matching that name indicates he previously was a legislative director for the California Federation of Teachers, and is now retired and engaged in “full time parenting.”
An X account matching that profile contains a steady stream of anti-Trump commentary.
“The authoritarian oligarchy is now complete,” the account posted in July. “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 X account identified by Variety contains a lot of angry commentary. Here’s the tweet they reference:
The authoritarian oligarchy is now complete. 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!— Al Hernandez Santana (@AlHSantana) July 18, 2025
Some more recent tweets from the same account.
I think the word empathy, that made up New Age term, did a lot of damage to CK’s carotid artery. Al Hernandez Santana (@AlHSantana) September 12, 2025
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. Al Hernandez Santana (@AlHSantana) September 18, 2025
Here he is suggesting Pam Bondi should be executed:
In the words of her very own hero Charlie Kirk, she ought to be executed for treason and for corrupting the AG’s office. If not right now, sooner or later she will trample on the law and violate her duties, because all her loyalty is owed to one man and not the US Constitution. Al Hernandez Santana (@AlHSantana) September 17, 2025
This one seems especially relevant.
I started carrying a gun when trump was elected president, the FIRST time. Still do— Al Hernandez Santana (@AlHSantana) September 18, 2025
He hasn’t been charged much less convicted yet. Like everyone else he’s innocent until proven guilty. And the police say the motive for the shooting at the ABC affiliate in Sacramento is still under investigation. In other words, they haven’t connected the bullets fired to the pro-Kimmel protest or anything else.
I’m all for police doing a thorough investigation but I think it’s pretty clear what this individual’s politics are and what might have motivated someone with these views to do what he’s been arrested for allegedly doing.
This incident aside, how many more angry left-wingers are out there who are in danger of escalating? Are we done with the political violence or just getting started? We’ve seen this sort of thing before. Violence seems to be contagious. After one school shooting that gets a lot of media attention we sometimes see copycats a few days or weeks later.
With that concern in mind, here’s another story making news today.
An armed man who was posing as a member of law enforcement was arrested by Secret Service agents at the Arizona stadium where Charlie Kirk’s funeral will be held Sunday, according to reports.
“The individual was approached by Secret Service and stated during the encounter that he was a member of law enforcement and that he was armed. The individual is not a member of authorized law enforcement working the event and is currently in custody,” Guglielmi said.
Maybe he was harmless, but given the sheer number of people who will attend, including two plane loads of White House officials, I really hope the Secret Service is going over everything very carefully.
“We’re actually taking two planes full of white House staff,” Leavitt told Fox News. “That just speaks to how many people [Kirk] touched at the highest levels of our government. And he will surely be honored and remembered tomorrow.”.
The event is expected to draw 100,000 mourners and will include remarks from President Trump and many other high-level government officials.
I’m hoping things settle down this coming week after the memorial service. But the country has felt very unsettled on both sides of the aisle. People are angry and angry people are capable of doing unhinged, and sometimes violent, things. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail.
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Karoline Leavitt responded to Barack Obama’s criticisms about Jimmy Kimmel’s show cancellation on Saturday, saying ABC executives made the decision independently.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt joined Fox News’ Kayleigh McEnany on her new show « Saturday in America », where she discussed former President Barack Obama’s comments about « Jimmy Kimmel Live » being indefinitely suspended.
« With all due respect to former President Obama, he has no idea what he’s talking about », Leavitt asserted. « The decision to fire Jimmy Kimmel and to cancel his show came from executives at ABC. »
« After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like », Obama posted to X on Thursday.
« This is precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent — and media companies need to start standing up rather than capitulating to it », he added.
Leavitt assured viewers that ABC’s decision to suspend Kimmel was not at the behest of the White House, and that President Donald Trump did not pressure the network to do so.
« And how do I know that, Kayleigh? » she asked. « Because I was with the President when this news broke in the United Kingdom. »
The press secretary claimed that she was the one who broke the news to Trump during their U.K. visit, and that at the time, the president « had no idea this was happening. »
« It was a decision that was made by ABC because Jimmy Kimmel chose to knowingly lie to his audience on his program about the death of a highly respected man when our country is in a state of mourning. That was a decision that he made, and he is now facing a consequence for that decision and for that lie », she contended.
Disney, ABC’s parent company, confirmed to Fox News Digital on Wednesday that Kimmel’s show, which is based in Los Angeles, would be pulled « indefinitely. »
Nexstar Media Group, which owns hundreds of television stations, announced in a press release it would preempt Kimmel’s show on its ABC affiliates starting Wednesday night « for the foreseeable future » and would replace it with other programming over his comments about Kirk’s alleged assassin. Sinclair Broadcast Group followed suit.
« Mr. Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse, and we do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views or values of the local communities in which we are located », Nexstar’s broadcasting chief, Andrew Alford, said in a press release.
On Monday, Kimmel accused conservatives of reaching « new lows » in trying to pin a left-wing ideology on 22-year-old suspect Tyler Robinson, even though prosecutors reaffirmed those ties in Tuesday’s indictment.
Leavitt noted that while Trump is « pleased with this decision », he had nothing to do with the show being pulled. She added that ABC’s choice likely came down to business, as Kimmel’s ratings were « in the gutter. »

The Secret Service told Fox News Digital it detained a man Friday inside State Farm Stadium, where Charlie Kirk’s memorial service will be held Sunday.
Arizona officials announced charges Saturday against the man the Secret Service allegedly caught carrying a gun and a knife inside State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on Friday.
The stadium is where Charlie Kirk’s memorial event is set to take place Sunday. Joshua Runkles was identified Saturday by the Arizona Department of Public Safety as the armed individual. He was charged with impersonating a law enforcement officer – a felony – and carrying a weapon into a prohibited place, which is a misdemeanor.
Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi previously said the man was detained « in the stadium, but it was prior to the setup of any secure perimeter. »
The individual allegedly told Secret Service agents that he was at the site to provide private security, The also reported, citing a law enforcement official familiar with the matter.
A federal source familiar with the investigation told Fox News that the man is a former law enforcement member from another state.
« He came and identified himself with expired credentials. They are going through his background and trying to figure out what he was up to there », the federal source added.
Guglielmi said to Fox News Digital: « The U.S. Secret Service in coordination with local law enforcement in Glendale, Arizona, is investigating an individual who was observed exhibiting suspicious behavior at State Farm Stadium. »
« The individual was approached by Secret Service and stated during the encounter that he was a member of law enforcement and that he was armed. The individual is not a member of authorized law enforcement working the event and is currently in custody », Guglielmi added.
The development comes as police are expecting approximately 100,000 people to attend Kirk’s memorial service at State Farm Stadium and an overflow arena on Sunday, Sept. 21, according to media reports.
State Farm Stadium has fixed seating for 63,400 and can expand to over 73,000 for larger events, according to the venue.
The Department of Homeland Security also designated the memorial service as a « Special Event Assessment Rating Level 1 », which is « reserved for events of the highest national significance » and the same severity as the Super Bowl.
Erika Kirk, who is Charlie Kirk’s widow, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance are among those set to speak at the event.

Utah State University will host Charlie Kirk’s “American Comeback Tour” later this month, just weeks after the Turning Point USA founder was shot dead at a college campus in the state.
Charlie Kirk’s “American Comeback Tour” will continue on to Utah State University later this month, just weeks after the Turning Point USA founder was shot dead at a college campus in the state.
“I think that that’s exactly what Charlie would have wanted,” said Turning Point USA’s Utah State University Chapter President Kaitlin Griffiths. “He wouldn’t want things to go on hold. He would only want this to empower our organization and our entire nation.”
Kirk, 31, was assassinated on Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University, which was the first stop on his latest tour, as he engaged in a dialogue with students across the political spectrum – a hallmark of the slain conservative activist’s events.
Utah State University — located in Logan, about 130 miles north of the site of Kirk’s assassination — will host the tour on Sept. 30.
Tyler Robinson, who has been charged with murdering Kirk, had been a student at Utah State University but only attended for one semester in the fall of 2021.
“He wouldn’t want his movement to go on pause because of this,” Griffiths told local outlet Fox 13. “He would only want it to grow stronger and to continue.”
Griffiths noted that Turning Point USA has not yet told her chapter who the speaker will be for the event, but Turning Point USA announced earlier this week that Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, would be taking the helm of the organization.
The university said in a statement that it had already been “working with local, state and federal partners to ensure appropriate security measures” for the event, prior Kirk’s assassination.
“Given the heightened concerns, USU’s department of public safety is continuing to collaborate with these partners to ensure appropriate safety measures and protocols are in place,” the school said.
Kirk’s event at Utah Valley University was held outdoors and drew a massive crowd.
Griffiths indicated that the Utah State event is drawing “increasing, growing interest” and may be held inside the school’s basketball arena.
“I’ve gotten a lot of people offering to help, asking if there’s any way to volunteer for helping with that event. A lot of people in the local community, at the school as well, just asking for more details,” Griffiths said.
Charlie Kirk’s funeral will be held Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Phoenix, Arizona.