A 38-year-old man, Cody Balmer, has been charged with serious offenses after attempting to ignite Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s house on fire.The attack occurred in the early morning hours of Sunday. Officials reported that Balmer scaled a fence and broke into the governor’s mansion. He then lit a fire with a homemade Molotov cocktail — basically a firebomb — composed of lawnmower gas and beer bottles.
He has been accused of attempted murder, aggravated arson, terrorism, and related crimes.
During a court appearance on Monday, the judge opted not to release him on bail, meaning that he will remain in jail at least for the time being. The judge explained that this ruling was taken to safeguard Balmer himself and the Harrisburg community as well.
Balmer did not enter a plea on Monday. His lawyer, Colton Whitener, said to CNN before the hearing, “We are not making any comment about the charges against Mr. Balmer until further is known.”The Harrisburg native surrendered to police, officials have said. A preliminary hearing for Balmer’s case has been scheduled for April 23.
Shapiro, his wife, Lori, their four kids, two dogs and another family had to leave the state-owned Harrisburg home, which was heavily damaged by the blaze, hours after the family had a Passover dinner, the governor said. No one was injured.
Balmer has admitted to “bearing hatred” towards Shapiro, and that he would have hammered the governor with a hammer if they had met and realized it was likely the governor was at home at the time, he said, and that others could have been injured, court documents accuse.
Authorities are still working to identify a motive and are looking into whether Balmer was motivated by antisemitism, according to Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo.
“I can’t speak to it directly because it’s not of record,” Chardo told CNN on Monday. “We’re looking at the possibility that it was geared towards the governor’s religion and his views on Israel.”
A source close to the investigation indicated that as yet, there was no indication antisemitism played a role in the incident, but noted the investigation of Balmer and his motives was still ongoing.
Mental illness could be an issue, according to a source close to the investigation. Authorities were surprised by how relaxed and laid-back the suspect was during the ordeal, the source noted.
