Pennsylvania police arrested a suspect Sunday following an arson attack at Governor Josh Shapiro’s residence while he and his family were inside. Police identified the suspect as 38-year-old Cody Balmer of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania’s capital. Dauphin County District Attorney Francis Chardo announced that Balmer will be charged with attempted murder, terrorism, aggravated arson, and aggravated assault against an enumerated person. In Pennsylvania, terrorism carries a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison if it involves the commission of a first-degree felony, such as aggravated arson.
According to a social media statement from Shapiro, police evacuated him and his family from the governor’s official residence at 2 am on Sunday after it was set ablaze. The building suffered damage, but Shapiro said that no one was injured in the attack. Hours before, the governor was hosting a seder dinner in observance of the Jewish holiday Passover in the same room that was set ablaze. Chardo said during a press conference that Balmer went over a fence and “surreptitiously” entered the property before setting the fire.
Governor Shaprio remarked:
This kind of violence is becoming far too common in our society. 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, and we have a responsibility to all be better.
The US has seen numerous instances of political violence in recent years, including the targeting of politicians. US President Donald Trump was the victim of an assassination attempt in Butler County, Pennsylvania, last July, where he was shot in the ear. Trump also faced a similar attempt later in September at his Mar-a-Lago, Florida, residence, but was unharmed.
In 2020, a group of men was charged with conspiring to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The ringleader of that effort was sentenced to 16 years in prison in December 2022.
Officials are continuing to investigate.
