Steve Williams writes for RedState.com about escalating danger on the left coast.
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.
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.” …
… 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.
