A man who torched the home of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro while the Democrat and his family were still inside has pleaded guilty to a string of offenses.
Cody Balmer, 38, admitted to the attempted murder of Shapiro following the firebombing of the governor’s mansion in April, as well as charges of terrorism, 22 counts of arson, aggravated assault, and other offenses, the Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office announced.
Balmer now faces between 25 and 50 years in prison for targeting the home of Shapiro, who is Jewish, just hours after the governor’s family and more than a dozen guests had celebrated the religious holiday of Passover.
Prosecutors said Balmer jumped an iron fence surrounding Shapiro’s residence before breaking into the home and starting the massive blaze using Molotov cocktails. He was also carrying a sledgehammer, which he told police he planned to use to kill Shapiro if he encountered him that night.
Balmer said he targeted the Pennsylvania governor in response to Israel’s actions during the war in Gaza. He told the Associated Press in a May letter from jail that Shapiro being Jewish was not a motivating factor in the attack.
“He can be Jewish, Muslim, or a purple people eater for all I care—as long as he leaves me and mine alone,” Balmer wrote.
The day after the attack, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania released photos showing extensive damage to the 29,000-square-foot Governor’s Residence.
At the time of the fire, Shapiro, his wife Lori, three of their children, and 15 guests, including other family members, and two Pennsylvania State Police troopers were present in the home. Police confirmed that the governor and his family were sleeping in a different part of the house from where the fire began, and were unharmed during the blaze.
Balmer claimed he thought about Shapiro’s children before setting the home ablaze with them still inside.
“Does anyone ever consider children?” Balmer told the AP in a June 9 video interview from Camp Hill State Prison. “It doesn’t seem that way. I sure as hell did. I’m glad no one got hurt.”
In a press conference the morning after the attack, Shapiro decried that “this kind of violence is becoming far too common” in the U.S.
“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 okay, and it has to stop. We have to be better than this.”
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