Elite-driven outrage culture has turned rhetoric into real risks on California’s streets, created by an environment where social media doesn’t just echo political theater, it amplifies it.
From Sacramento to Los Angeles, citizens are living with the fallout: intimidation normalized, threats brushed off, and responsibility abandoned. This is what happens when words are weaponized.
And while the Left claims the mantle of tolerance, their actions tell a very different story. Just look at what went down last Friday.
In Sacramento, the local ABC affiliate, ABC10, became the backdrop for gunfire in the afternoon. Three bullets shattered the lobby window in a drive-by shooting, sending the community into alarm. Thankfully, no one was injured.
The suspect, 64-year-old Anibal Hernandez-Santana – a former legislative director for the California Federation of Teachers, which contributed $1 million to the campaign supporting Proposition 50 – faces state charges and is now held under a federal statute for interference with broadcast communications.
Politically motivated? Police are still investigating, but the timing makes the context impossible to ignore.
ABC TV Station in Sacramento Hit by Gunfire, One Day After Protest Over Kimmel Suspension
The shooting came one day after a protest over the suspension of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," itself already framed by left-wing media as part of the national discourse following the assassination of Charlie Kirk. That killing escalated political rhetoric to a fever pitch, with conservatives warning of leftist threats and left-leaning activists fanning fears of “violent right-wing extremists.”
Later that same day in Los Angeles, political intimidation struck citizens exercising their First Amendment rights. On Reddit, user FlashyClick2515, aka Magagivesmetheick, posted a copy of a flyer for a Republican club event at Lulu’s Restaurant in Van Nuys, accompanied by a disturbing caption (the post has been removed, but the comments section remains).
The event featured Roxanne Hoge, Chair of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County (the largest GOP county party in the nation) as the guest speaker. FlashyClick2515 urged disruption, accusing Hoge of supporting “kidnappings” and “white supremacy,” while shaming the restaurant owner for allowing it:
“We cannot allow a LA resident/republican who backs the kidnappings, who backs white supremacy, to have a nice quiet meeting with no issues. Especially, right next to the Home Depot in Van Nuys that we have been taking huge losses in kidnappings by ice.
The Business owner Mike Camorlina will continue to allow this to happen at his restaurant if we don't make it known that we don't accept fascism.
I understand they have the right to gather as all humans, but not undisrupted. I wouldn't eat there anyway, rats n roaches people. Don't ask how I know.”
After seeing the post, Hoge contacted law enforcement and went to X:
“@FBILosAngeles I get that people have the right to dislike what I say, but is there no recourse for someone concerned about their personal safety when threatened due to inflammatory and false rhetoric from @MayorOfLA?”
Even Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Hatami weighed in:
“Bass, Newsom and most of our elected leaders in LA and CA are responsible for a lot of this. They put this language out everyday. They only care about power and getting re-elected or a new political position. They don’t actual care about all of us living together peacefully and accepting that we have differences and that’s okay.”
I’m a Christian. Republicans have a right to meet and organize. Democrats have a right to meet and organize. That is what America is all about. No one should call either “racist,” “facists,” “white supremacists,” or say they are going to put a mob together to attack and harass… pic.twitter.com/1TGSHyHzrx
— jonathanhatami (@jonathanhatami) September 20, 2025
While social media fuels rage and the left-wing mob mentality grows unchecked, law enforcement admits it can only act after the fact. Fortunately, there was no protest or disruption at the event.
This is not isolated chaos. The Charlie Kirk assassination and the ensuing rhetoric unleashed have exacerbated an atmosphere where anger, fear, and accusations fuel escalation.
In Sacramento, it set the stage for bullets. In Los Angeles, it emboldened the targeting of Republican citizens and business owners. Both are symptoms of a nationwide climate where political speech and online outrage spill over into the streets.
California’s political environment has never been more toxic, threatening, or volatile. Citizens are caught in a storm stoked by elite politicians and media outlets who profit from division.
And California’s leaders? Karen Bass, Gavin Newsom, Maxine Waters, and their allies keep fanning the flames, while hiding behind platitudes about “tolerance” and “civility.”
This is California’s intolerant Left in action.
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