Arson attack probe at Pennsylvania governor’s mansion looking into suspect’s hatred of Josh Shapiro

HERSHEY Pa AP Executives probing why a man set fire to Pennsylvania Gov Josh Shapiro s official residence are probing whether the suspect was motivated by the Democrat s Jewish faith or positions on Israel s war in Gaza Police have declared that Cody Balmer of Harrisburg harbored hatred toward Shapiro Several search warrants issued Wednesday offer the first details about a anticipated motive for the arson attack early Sunday in a room where only hours earlier Shapiro and his family celebrated Passover with members of the Jewish society Balmer called less than an hour after the fire erupted promised a confession and talked about Palestinians being killed police wrote in search warrants Exactly what the man was trying to say and who he was referencing isn t clear from the partial quotations included in the search warrants Police quoted Balmer as saying our people have been put through too much by that monster Balmer also related that Governor Josh SHAPIRO requirements to know that he will not take part in his plans for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people police wrote During a police interview after turning himself in Balmer admitted to harboring hatred towards Governor Shapiro according to a police affidavit that did not expand on that point Police obtained search warrants for Balmer s electronic devices and a storage locker seeking any writings or notes that contain the name of Josh Shapiro or a reference to Palestine Gaza Israel or the current conflict in Gaza Shapiro declined to talk about a motive backslash Wednesday saying prosecutors will ultimately determine what prompted the attack It s not for me to answer that he stated The governor has been publicly critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu s leadership and the nature of Israel s military action in Gaza but also has backed the country s right to defend itself from Hamas Balmer was diagnosed with bipolar disorder but did not believe the assessment his brother Dan Balmer notified The Associated Press He revealed he twice helped Cody get therapy at the Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute In court on Monday Balmer denied having any mental illness and described himself as an unemployed welder with no income or savings A judge denied bail and ordered him held on charges including attempted homicide terrorism and arson He did not enter a plea Dauphin County chief society defender Mary Klatt stated in a announcement that a preliminary hearing would be delayed for the purpose of determining his competency to stand trial and that Balmer will be represented by a unit of attorneys due to the complexity of this scenario The claims if true demonstrate the devastating consequences of severe mental illness Klatt noted Balmer notified police he planned to beat Shapiro with a small sledgehammer if he encountered him after urgent into the building according to court documents filed in this latest event of violence against political figures in the U S U S Attorney General Pam Bondi revealed she spoke with Shapiro She described the arson as absolutely horrific and explained she believes the alleged culprit sought to kill him Federal leadership are working with state law enforcement and doing anything we can to help convict the person who did this she added State police communicated that an independent third-party expert will assess risks and vulnerability of the governor s official residence Shapiro stated measures will be taken to strengthen safety systems while adding he has faith in his precaution company and state police Dan Balmer noted his brother had displayed concerning behavior including the night before the fire when he flipped over a table at the home where Cody Balmer lived with their parents A search warrant says he scaled a nearly -foot-high -meter-high protection fence eluded police smashed a window with a hammer and tossed a lit beer bottle filled with gasoline into the piano room Then he broke a second window climbed inside the state dining room and remained inside for about a minute lighting a second Molotov cocktail before kicking open a door and fleeing the warrant says Shapiro explained he his wife their four children and another family celebrated Passover on Saturday night and then were awakened by state troopers pounding on their doors and forced to evacuate at about a m Firefighters extinguished the fire and no one was injured The governor revealed he and his wife have had multiple conversations with their children since the attack It s very hard as a parent to answer to children like why does this stuff happen he reported Why are there people out there that want to do harm to others Those are hard questions to answer for kids