A Pennsylvania court overnight accepted a plea deal that convicted Cody Balmer of setting fire to the home of Pennsylvania’s Jewish governor, Josh Shapiro, in April, causing heavy damage. Balmer was sentenced under the deal to 25 to 50 years in prison — far less than the term prosecutors had sought had he gone to trial. The governor said he supported the plea as an appropriate resolution.
The attack on the governor’s mansion took place April 13, hours after Shapiro — a Jewish Democrat who is viewed as a potential 2028 presidential contender — and his wife had hosted a Passover seder with their four children. No one was hurt in the fire, but it caused extensive damage to one wing of the mansion, the official residence of Pennsylvania governors since the 1960s. Shapiro and his family were sleeping in another part of the house and were awakened at about 2 a.m. by knocking from police at the door. They were evacuated as firefighters put out the blaze.
Watch Cody Balmer set fire to residence of Jewish governor of Pennsylvania
(Video: Reuters)
Days after the attack, authorities said Balmer carried it out because he believed the governor’s pro‑Israel stance on the war in Gaza was leading to Palestinian deaths. In a phone call to police when he surrendered, Balmer said Shapiro needed to know he “won’t take part in the program of what he wants to do to the Palestinian people.” He later said he wanted “my friends to stop dying,” referred to the Jewish governor, and added, “my people have suffered too much from this monster.”
At the hearing, prosecutors for the first time played video showing Balmer breaking a window and throwing beer bottles filled with gasoline into the mansion to start the fire. The footage shows him toss one bottle into the mansion’s dining room, then use a small hammer to force open another window and crawl inside. He is seen penetrating far enough into the house to kick at a door that led to the area where Shapiro and his family slept, but he did not get through. He then appears to ignite a second fire, leaves the room and returns to the yard. At no point did he encounter the officers who were posted to protect the residence.
Balmer pleaded guilty to terrorism charges and arson as part of the plea agreement. His attorney, Brian Wok, said his client accepts full responsibility and will pay a steep price for his actions. Shapiro’s wife, Lori, read a statement in court saying the family still feels completely exposed and lives with “fear and anxiety we are learning to live with.”
The attack on the governor’s mansion was one of a string of politically motivated violent incidents in the U.S. since 2024. The wave began with two assassination attempts against Donald Trump, continued with the killing of Democratic officials in Minnesota, and most recently culminated in the murder of right‑wing activist Charlie Kirk. After Kirk’s killing, Shapiro called for removing hatred from public life and criticized what he called “rhetoric of rage” by Trump that he said fuels more violence.
Shapiro said Wednesday that political violence should not be treated as a normal occupational hazard for public officials and described efforts to calm his children’s fears after the attack on their home. “Our kids ask, ‘Why would anyone want to hurt us? How did they get so close to the governor’s mansion, a place that’s supposed to be the safest?’ ” he said.
Balmer surrendered to police the day after the attack. In his interrogation he said he intended to strike Shapiro with a hammer if he encountered him during the assault and acknowledged he considered the possibility that children might be harmed.
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Arsonist Cody Balmer and the destruction inside the governor's mansion
(Photo: Pennsylvania State Police, Handout / Dauphin County District Attorney's Office/AFP)
Because the attack came hours after the Passover seder, questions arose at the time about whether the attack was antisemitic. In May, from jail, Balmer sent a letter to The Associated Press saying Shapiro’s Jewishness was not a factor in his actions: “As long as he stands with me and my concerns, he can be Jewish, Muslim, or eat purple people, I don’t care,” he wrote. But investigators say Balmer repeatedly expressed concern about Palestinian deaths in Gaza, and his statements indicated he was willing to sacrifice others’ lives in retaliation. Shapiro is an outspoken supporter of Israel and backed its actions during much of the Gaza war.
Days after the attack Balmer’s mother said he suffered from mental illness and that she had tried to find him treatment but got no help. Court proceedings were delayed while he received mental health care. A family statement read in court said he had stopped taking his medication and suffered manic episodes.