A Pennsylvania man charged with attempted murder and terrorism for allegedly fire-bombing the governor’s mansion on Sunday told officials he carried out the attack because of his views on the Israel-Hamas war, according to police.
Speaking with a 911 dispatcher about an hour after the early-hours fire, Cody Balmer, 38, said he wanted Governor Josh Shapiro to know he “will not take part in his plans for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people,” according to a search warrant obtained by NBC10 Philadelphia.
Balmer also said “our people have been put through too much by that monster” on the call, according to the warrant.
The 38-year-old admitted to “harboring hatred” towards Shapiro and said he would’ve beaten the Democratic official with a hammer if he saw him during the break-in, police said Balmer told officials after turning himself in. The Harrisburg man had a previous charge for allegedly assaulting members of his family.
In the early hours of April 13, Balmer scaled a fence outside the Harrisburg mansion, shattered an exterior window with a hammer, then used homemade Molotov cocktails to light a wing of the house on fire, according to police.
Balmer’s ex-girlfriend has said the man, an out-of-work welder who previously worked at an auto shop, had stopped taking his medication and his whereabouts were unknown between April 6 and April 10. Balmer then showed up at his brother’s home in the midst of an apparent mental health crisis, she said.
The night before the attack, Shapiro, who is Jewish, and his family celebrated the holiday of Passover in the official residence.
The Pennsylvania governor, seen as a front runner for the 2024 Democratic presidential ticket and potential 2028 candidate, has expressed a range of views on Israel-Palestine issues in recent years.
He has said he supports a two-state solution with “Israelis and Palestinians living peacefully side-by-side, being able to determine their own futures and their own destiny.”
He also called on the University of Pennsylvania to disband a pro-Palestine protest encampment in 2024 and criticized the school for having “lost its way” amid the protests and allegations of on-campus antisemitism.
After the fire, in which no one was harmed, Shapiro condemned recent acts of political violence, which have included arson attacks against Teslas, in what are widely seen as protests against Elon Musk.
“We don’t know the person’s specific motive yet,” Shapiro following the fire. “But we do know a few truths. First, this type of violence is not okay. This kind of violence is becoming far too common in our society.”
“I don’t give a damn if it’s coming from one particular side or the other, directed at one party or another, or one person or another, it is not okay,” he continued. “It has to stop. We have to be better than this.”
The governor also said he would be undeterred in practicing his faith with his family.
