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U.S.|Suspect in Arson at Pennsylvania Governor’s Mansion Had Troubled Past
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/14/us/pennsylvania-shapiro-attacker.html
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A man charged with setting fire to the residence of Gov. Josh Shapiro had faced previous charges of assaulting his family. He was arraigned on attempted murder and arson charges on Monday.
April 14, 2025Updated 7:27 p.m. ET
The man charged with attempted murder for setting fire to the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion while Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family slept had a troubled past and a history of mental illness, according to new details on the case that emerged on Monday.
The police said the suspect in the case, Cody Balmer, 38, of Harrisburg, climbed an exterior fence outside the residence early Sunday morning, broke two windows with a hammer and threw Molotov cocktails inside, causing seriousdamage. He later told investigators that he had fashioned the incendiary devices from beer bottles and gasoline from a lawn mower.
Francis T. Chardo, the Dauphin County district attorney, said that his office was still examining whether the attack was politically or religiously motivated and that investigators were looking at social media, voice mail and other records.
The attack took place on the first night of Passover, a major Jewish holiday, several hours after the governor and his extended family had gathered for a Seder meal.
Mr. Balmer, in an interview with the police, “admitted to harboring hatred” of Mr. Shapiro and said that he would have “beaten him with his hammer” had he run into him that night at the mansion, according to an affidavit filed in the case.
But Mr. Balmer’s social media suggested not a particular ideology so much as a deep cynicism, in some posts espousing a libertarian bent bordering on anarchism, in others praising violence. His Facebook posts included rants about big pharma, women and the government.
