A man accused of setting fire to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s Harrisburg residence “admitted to harboring hatred towards” Pennsylvania’s chief executive, investigators said in court documents filed Monday.
Cody A. Balmer, 38, allegedly told state troopers he filled empty Heineken beer bottles with gasoline from his lawnmower, grabbed a small sledgehammer and walked about an hour from his Harrisburg home to the governor’s mansion.
When asked what his plan was if he encountered Shapiro, Balmer said he intended to beat the governor with the hammer, according to an affidavit of probable cause for his arrest.
The flames forced Shapiro and his family to evacuate the property at around 2 a.m. Sunday. No one was injured, and a section of the home was severely damaged.
While additional details about the attack emerged Monday, primarily through court records, the suspect’s reasons for targeting Shapiro remained unclear.
Balmer’s mother told CBS News her son is “mentally ill and he went off his medication.” She said she had reported him to multiple police departments in recent days in an attempt to get him help.
After climbing a fence, Balmer used a hammer to break a window and throw in one of his homemade Molotov cocktails, authorities said. Then, he allegedly shattered another window and entered the home to deploy additional incendiary devices.
Though state police were aware an intruder had entered the property, Balmer was able to escape, scaling the same fence he used to access the residence, according to investigators.
Later Sunday, Balmer’s ex-lover contacted state police to say that he had confessed to her and wanted to surrender, the affidavit states. A short time later, he approached a trooper outside the department’s headquarters and turned himself in, investigators added.
State police said Monday that Balmer was hospitalized “due to a medical event not connected to this incident or his arrest.” No specifics were provided.
Prosecutors have charged Balmer with attempted murder, aggravated arson, terrorism, burglary and other crimes. He was arraigned Monday evening and is being held without bail at the Dauphin County Prison, according to court documents. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, April 23.
Hours before the fire, Shapiro marked the first night of Passover inside the house with a Seder meal with family and friends.
Photographs released by the Governor’s Office show the extent of damage, mainly to the dining and piano rooms. One image depicts a sign indicating the availability of kid-friendly Passover crafts.
The Pennsylvania Jewish Coalition, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia and other Jewish federations across the commonwealth issued a statement Tuesday saying that the attack “raises serious concerns and pain for our community,” “especially given the long history of antisemitic pogroms on the Passover holiday.”
“While it has not yet been determined whether this act will be formally classified as a hate crime, the symbolism of attacking a residential space used for a Jewish religious observance by a Jewish Governor on Passover cannot be overlooked,” the organizations said.
“Jill and I are disgusted by the attack on the Shapiro family and their home during the first night of Passover,” former President Joe Biden said Monday in a social media post. “There is no place for this type of evil in America, and as I told the Governor yesterday, we must stand united against hatred and violence.”
“Thanks be to God that Governor Shapiro and his family were unharmed in this attack,” Vice President JD Vance wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, Sunday night. “Really disgusting violence, and I hope whoever did it is brought swiftly to justice.”
