HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A 38-year-old man pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges including attempted murder and arson for setting fires inside the official residence of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro while Shapiro, his family and others were inside.
Cody Balmer was sentenced under a plea deal to 25 to 50 years in state prison.
No one was injured but the April 13 fire did considerable damage to the governor’s mansion. Shapiro said the attack has made his family feel unsafe. He said he supports the plea agreement.
What to know about the case:
How was the fire set?
Authorities say Balmer climbed over an iron security fence, used gasoline in beer bottles to ignite a dining room and entertaining space, broke a window to crawl inside, then kicked at a door leading to where the Shapiros and guests were sleeping but didn’t get through. He walked back out, never encountering state police on the property.
Hours earlier, Shapiro, his family and their overnight guests had celebrated the Jewish holiday of Passover with a Seder. They were awakened by state police and ushered to safety.
Balmer called 911 and walked to a state police facility the following afternoon to turn himself in.
Why did he attack the governor’s mansion?
Balmer’s family said he had received mental health treatment but struggled after he stopped taking medication. District Attorney Fran Chardo said at a news conference Tuesday that Balmer had expressed concern about the war in Gaza and somehow saw the attack as a response to deaths in that conflict.
Balmer told The Associated Press in a May letter from jail that Shapiro’s Jewish faith had not been a factor.
What has the governor said about it?
A statement by Shapiro and his wife, Lori, was read in court, describing how their sense of personal safety and security was changed by the attack. Some family members have had difficulty sleeping, they said, and there is now “a fear and anxiety we are learning to live with.” They said the damage and the repair work are constant reminders of what happened.
After the hearing, the governor told reporters he and his wife have struggled to make sense of it.
He said it was difficult to even say the words “attempted murder” aloud knowing he was the target.
“It’s especially hard to know that he tried to burn our family to death while we slept,” Shapiro said.
What happened to the building?
The fire charred walls, tables, dishes and a piano, and damaged window panes and brickwork at the five-decade-old residence, which didn’t have sprinklers.
The property in Harrisburg along the Susquehanna River was reopened to the public as the cleanup and rebuilding began, and it’s getting security upgrades including an anti-climb fence after a consultant’s security review. The findings of that review weren’t publicly disclosed.
The cost of the damage is expected to exceed a million dollars.
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