A man has been charged with attempted murder and terrorism after setting fire to Pennsylvania’s Jewish Governor's home on Passover.
Cody Balmer, 38, was arrested on Sunday following an attack on Josh Shapiro's home in Harrisburg, just hours after the top Democrat, his family and some friends held a Passover seder.
The family was awakened by state troopers who arrived at the residence shortly after 2am knocking on the door.
The suspect is believed to have scaled a nearly 7-foot-high iron security fence, evading officers stationed outside, before breaking a window on the south side of the home.
Photographs from the scene showed broken windows and extensive fire damage
REUTERS
He then used beer bottles filled with gasoline to create petrol bombs that ignited a fire while the governor and his family were asleep.
Surveillance footage captured the suspect - wearing gloves - entering the "piano room" and then proceeding to the dining room, where he set off a second "incendiary device" that sparked another blaze.
Photographs from the scene showed broken windows and extensive fire damage.
The suspect managed to flee before police arrived.
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Balmer reportedly told police that he harbored hatred toward Shapiro and had planned to attack him with a sledgehammer
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According to an affidavit, Balmer later turned himself in to Pennsylvania state police.
He reportedly told police that he harboured hatred toward Shapiro and had planned to attack him with a sledgehammer.
During his police interview, the man said he walked an hour from his residence to the Governor’s mansion.
According to sources, he reportedly had “grievances with the Democratic Party primarily that were related to financial issues”.
Authorities have said Balmer was also charged with aggravated assault and aggravated arson.
The incident shares similarities with the attack on the home of former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in San Francisco, where her husband, Paul, was struck on the head with a hammer on the morning of October 22, 2022, leaving him unconscious.
David DePape was convicted on charges including aggravated kidnapping, first-degree burglary, and false imprisonment of an elder, and was sentenced to 30 years in prison late last year.
He had a history of mental health struggles and drug abuse, and had adopted several far right conspiracy theories, including President Donald Trump’s false claims about the 2020 being a stolen election.
In a press conference following the incident, Shapiro stated that if Balmer was trying to stop him from doing his job, then he would work even harder
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In a press conference following the incident, Shapiro stated that if Balmer was trying to stop him from doing his job, then he would work even harder.
It is unclear whether the attack was fueled by antisemitism, however the governor also added that nobody would stop him from observing his faith.
He said: “I refuse to let anyone who had evil intentions like that stop me from doing the work that I love.”
“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.”
