Audrey Streb
Pennsylvania authorities arrested a suspect in connection with the alleged arson of Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s residence.
Cody Balmer, 38, was charged with attempted murder, terrorism, aggravated arson, burglary and other related offenses, according to the Dauphin County District Attorney’s office and the police criminal affidavit. The suspect allegedly hopped the fence outside of Shapiro’s Harrisburg home and “actively evaded troopers” who were searching for him before entering the residence, setting it on fire and then leaving, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said during a Sunday afternoon press conference.
Shapiro, his wife and their children were at home sleeping during the attack. When Balmer was asked by police what he would have done if he had found Shapiro, he said he would have bludgeoned him with a hammer, according to the affidavit.
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Balmer also told police that he took gasoline from a lawn mower and poured it into beer bottles to make Molotov cocktails, which he threw into the governor’s home, according to the affidavit.
“He clearly had a plan. He was very methodical in his approach and moved through it without a lot of hurry,” Bivens said during the press conference. “Again, in a very methodical planned manner and carried it out although in a very short period of time … he was inside for less than a minute.”
The suspect told the police he was “harboring hatred ” for the governor, according to the affidavit.
“The FBI is assisting Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) in their investigation,” the FBI wrote to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “They remain the lead agency as we work together on this investigation.”
The Pennsylvania state police office pointed the DCNF to PAcast government website for more information, which includes photos of the crime scene and the full Sunday afternoon press conference.
“This type of violence is not ok! This kind of violence is becoming far too common in our society,” Shapiro stated during the press conference. “And I don’t give a damn if it’s coming from one particular side or the other, directed at one particular party or another or one particular person or another, it is not ok. And it has to stop. We have to be better than this.”
The attack took place on the Jewish celebration of Passover, Shapiro noted in the press conference. “We celebrated our faith last night, proudly and in a few hours, we will celebrate our second Seder of Passover,” he said. “No one will deter me or my family or any Pennsylvanian from celebrating their faith openly and proudly.”
When the governor was asked if he believed the attack was politically motivated, he responded that it’s “not something [he was] prepared to answer.”
Balmer appeared to have admitted on social media that he is a “registered socialist” on Facebook, supported Black Lives Matter and was critical of MAGA, Christians and the Second Amendment. He last voted in the 2022 general election, but is not registered with any political party, according to PhillyBurbs.
He has been charged for two other crimes in the past, including simple assault in 2023 and forgery and theft by deception in 2015, according to public court documents. Balmer pleaded guilty to the 2015 charges in 2016, according to CNN.
He was off his medication to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder at the time of the attack on the governor’s home, according to Pennlive, who spoke with Balmer’s mother.
Shapiro’s office, a public defender for Balmer listed on court documents and the Dauphin County District Attorney’s office, did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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