The suspect charged with setting Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home on fire allegedly did so because of what the Jewish governor would “do to the Palestinian people.”
Cody Balmer told a 911 dispatcher over the phone why he lit Shaprio’s Harrisburg home on fire with his family inside in the hours of Passover night, PennLive reported, citing a search warrant. A district attorney has said the evidence could result in hate crime charges in a case that is sparking concerns about rising threats to government officials.
The warrant describes Balmer saying he “will not take part in [Shapiro’s] plans for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people,” PennLive reported. The suspect also allegedly said the governor needed to “stop having [his] friends killed” and that “our people have been put through too much by that monster.” The warrant reportedly said Balmer attacked the pro-Israel governor over his Jewish faith without elaborating.
“We will use the statement regarding Palestine as evidence the defendant targeted the governor because he is Jewish,” Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo said Tuesday night. “We allege that this was a hate crime.”
“You all know where to find me,” Balmer reportedly said on the 911 call after scaling a fence and throwing an incendiary device at the home. “I’m not hiding, and I will confess to everything that I had done.” Shapiro and his family evacuated the house before anyone was hurt, but the property was left in shambles.
PennLive also reported that police found stickers of Cuban communist revolutionary Che Guevara in Balmer’s home, but did not find any evidence referencing Israelis and Palestinians. Some mainstream media coverage has omitted signs that Balmer embraced left-leaning ideology.
Balmer’s ex-girlfriend called the police to tell them he was responsible for the arson on Sunday, and Balmer surrendered himself at at state police’s headquarters later that day, according to PennLive.
Balmer currently faces homicide, arson, burglary, reckless endangerment, terrorism, assault, and loitering and prowling charges, county records show. An attorney for Balmer was not listed.
The district attorney’s office and the governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.
“Last night at the Governor’s Residence, we experienced an attack not just on our family, but on the entire Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said in an X post Sunday after the attack. “This kind of violence has become far too common in our society, and it has to stop.”
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