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The individual accused of targeting the Governor’s Mansion in Pennsylvania while Josh Shapiro and his family were asleep inside may have been driven by the conflict in Gaza.
Cody Balmer was taken into custody on Sunday shortly after the reported arson of the upscale residence. He is facing charges of attempted homicide, aggravated arson, and terrorism.
According to information from search warrants, Balmer contacted emergency services and informed the operator that he had set his sights on Shapiro, in part, due to what he believed were Shapiro’s opinions regarding the situation in the Middle East.
Shapiro is Jewish and his family were celebrating Passover on the night of the arson attack. Balmer allegedly blames him for the deaths of Palestinians.
Balmer allegedly told the operator Shapiro needed to ‘stop having my friends killed’, adding ‘our people have been put through too much by that monster,’ the documents state.
Law enforcement officials are still working to determine a motive and haven’t definitively blamed hate or antisemitism, but have also not yet ruled it out.
During his 911 call, Balmer allegedly also said Shapiro must know that he ‘will not take part in his plans for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people.’
But Balmer’s loved ones have maintained the root cause of his problems, and the incident on Saturday, is mental health issues.
Cody Balmer was arrested on Sunday hours after he allegedly torched the luxury mansion, and charged with attempted homicide, aggravated arson and terrorism
Search warrants reveal that Balmer called 911 and told the operator he’d targeted Shapiro partly because of his supposed views on the crisis in the Middle East
Relatives had indicated he recently ‘came off his meds’ and had fallen off the rails.
Authorities reportedly believe mental illness was a factor in his alleged offending.
The warrants allowed officials to seize several smartphones belonging to Balmer, along with a laptop and a swab of his DNA.
Elsewhere in the warrant, it was noted that the ‘intonation and cadence’ of his voice during the 911 call indicated he may have been ‘reading from a script.’
Balmer allegedly used two beer bottles filled with gasoline to make homemade Molotov cocktails to light fire to Shapiro’s Harrisburg mansion, the official property where Pennsylvania governors reside.
He then turned himself into Pennsylvania State Police, telling officers he was ‘harboring hatred towards Governor Shapiro’ and that he had removed the gasoline from a lawnmower.
And according to the police affidavit seen by DailyMail.com, Balmer told police he ‘would have beaten him with a hammer’ if they had crossed paths.
Balmer’s social media profile was littered with political commentary and criticism about American institutions, without any direct reference to anti-Semitism.
Balmer allegedly told the operator Shapiro needed to ‘stop having my friends killed’, adding ‘our people have been put through too much by that monster,’ the documents state
Balmer’s social media profile also offers an insight into his state of mind. The 38-year-old Harrisburg father had made chilling posts about former president Joe Biden and his supporters, arguing that they ‘shouldn’t exist’ and even suggesting Biden was going to be killed
Shapiro is Jewish and his family were celebrating Passover on the night of the arson attack. Balmer allegedly blames him for the deaths of Palestinians
The 38-year-old Harrisburg father had made chilling posts about former president Joe Biden and his supporters, arguing that they ‘shouldn’t exist’ and even suggesting Biden was going to be killed.
‘Biden supporters shouldn’t exist,’ he wrote in one post dated January 2021.
‘RIP Joe Biden… whoops that’s in May. #notmypresident,’ another read, while another added that ‘knowing is half the battle… the other half is extreme violence.’
Balmer had separately noted during Biden’s presidential term that gas was cheaper under President Donald Trump. He insisted at the time he did ‘not play favorites especially since they all suck.’
Trump was asked about the suspect’s political leanings on Monday, and said he was likely ‘just a whack job.’
‘The attacker was not a fan of Trump, I understand,’ Trump told reporters. ‘Just from what I read and what I’ve been told.
‘The attacker basically wasn’t a fan of anybody, probably just a whack job, and certainly a thing like that cannot be allowed to happen.’
Extraordinary photos show the sheer extent of the damage to Shapiro’s home.
Cody Balmer has been charged with attempted homicide, aggravated arson and terrorism for the Saturday night attack on the Pennsylvania Governor’s home
Shapiro, his wife Lori and their four children (pictured) were in the home at the time of the blaze
Extraordinary photos show the sheer extent of the damage to the Governor’s Mansion, which has housed Pennsylvania’s leaders since the building was completed in 1968
Governor Shapiro’s mansion was torched to a crisp
Fire crews were dispatched to Democrat Shapiro’s home in Harrisburg around 2am Sunday, the town’s Fire Chief Brian Enterline said.
Everyone inside the home was in a separate part of the residence when the flames broke out and were able to evacuate safely.
The shocking images show the charred remnants of the once-stunning rooms. The living areas and common spaces have been left blackened with ash and soot with what’s left of the furniture scattered haphazardly around the rooms.
