Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro responds after arson attack at his home
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro called out political violence after police detained a suspect in an arson attack at the governor’s home in Harrisburg.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is pushing Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate an arson attack on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as an antisemitic hate crime.
A 38-year-old Harrisburg man, Cody Balmer, allegedly smashed windows and hurled Molotov cocktails into the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion on April 13, just hours after Shapiro and his family celebrated Passover there. The family was at the residence during the attack but no one was harmed.
Balmer told a 911 operator that he targeted Shapiro because of his perceived stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict, according to search warrants. He also told police he was “harboring hatred” for Shapiro and that he would have attacked him with a hammer if he’d found him in the residence.
“These statements—in conjunction with the timing of the attack during Passover, Governor Shapiro’s visible embrace of his Jewish faith, and the context of rising antisemitism globally and across the country—raise serious concerns about antisemitic motivation,” Schumer wrote in an April 17 letter.
“Our federal authorities must bring the full weight of our civil-rights laws to bear in examining this matter,” added the New York Democrat, who is the highest-ranking Jewish public official in American history. “No person or public official should be targeted because of their faith, and no community should wonder whether such acts will be met with silence.”
The Justice Department and the White House did not immediately return a request for comment on Schumer’s letter seeking a federal investigation, but the Trump administration has condemned the attack against Shapiro. President Donald Trump said “a thing like that can not be allowed to happen,” and Vice President JD Vance called it “really disgusting violence.”
Balmer has been arrested and faces Pennsylvania state charges for attempted murder, aggravated arson, burglary, terrorism and related offenses tied to the attack at Shapiro’s home. He did not enter a plea during his arraignment, and the next hearing in the case is April 23.
There is no mandatory minimum sentence for federal hate crimes, but a conviction could result in a sentence of life imprisonment.
Shapiro has risen to prominence as an outspoken Democratic governor and supporter of Israel. He was also reportedly shortlisted as a potential running mate for Kamala Harris’ 2024 campaign against President Donald Trump. His family hosted a Passover celebration hours before the attack.
Shapiro told reporters at a news conference on April 16 that regardless of the motivation for the crime, political violence must be condemned as unacceptable in our society.
“Nothing he could do would deter me from doing my job as governor,” he said. “Nothing he could do would deter me from proudly and openly practicing my faith.”
Jeanine Santucci contributed.