We reported earlier Sunday how Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family were awakened by police pounding on the door at 2 a.m. after an arsonist set fire to the Governor's Residence in Harrisburg.
Although no one was injured, the fire did significant damage and indicated yet another troublesome instance of political violence in this country.
On Sunday afternoon, officials announced that they have arrested a suspect:
A 38-year-old man has been arrested in connection with an arson fire at the Pennsylvania governor’s house as the governor and his family slept inside….
Colonel Christopher Paris, state police commissioner, said at a Sunday news conference Cody Balmer of Harrisburg had been arrested.
Balmer hasn’t been charged yet, but potential charges will include attempted murder, terrorism, aggravated arson, aggravated assault against an enumerated person, officials said at a Sunday news conference.
According to another report, Balmer managed to get inside the residence:
Balmer had homemade incendiary devices in his possession and made it inside the residence before leaving, according to the state police commissioner. He was apprehended on Sunday in the Harrisburg area.
The suspect involved in the arson attack on Gov. Shapiro's home evaded troopers as they were searching for him. pic.twitter.com/ShORCijL2I
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) April 13, 2025
RedState’s Nick Arama reported earlier on how it was fortunate that the fire was not near where the family was sleeping:
The Pennsylvania State Police are calling it "arson" and said there was significant damage to the residence. Police said fortunately the family was located in another part of the home away from the fire so they were evacuated and safe. I'm not sure what was going on with the fire alarms that the police had to wake them up and how someone was able to get that close to the house, but that's concerning, as is the whole incident.
Yikes: PA Gov. Josh Shapiro's Home Set on Fire by Arsonist While He and Family Slept
The Democrat governor, who was once in consideration to be Kamala Harris’ running mate, was emotional over the attack:
Shapiro, who is Jewish, became visible emotional as he spoke about the 2 a.m. attack on his home as he and his family slept inside.
“If he was trying to terrorize our family, our friends, the Jewish community, who joined us for a Passover Seder in that room last night, hear me on this: we celebrated our faith last night, proudly and in a few hours, we will celebrate our second Seder of Passover,” he said.
Police said Balmer sneaked into the gated compound that is the official residence of the governor by jumping a fence.
.@GovernorShapiro addressing the arson incident at his home last night in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
— Jeff Storobinsky (@jeffstorobinsky) April 13, 2025
SUSPECT ARRESTED: Cody Balmer age 38
4.13.25 520 pm ET pic.twitter.com/UExNHDckSi
Not much is known about the suspect as of this writing, although there are many alleged photos of him circulating online. We won’t post those here until there is official confirmation that the man in the posts is in fact the suspect.
Party takes a backseat to events like this, as political violence in this country simply cannot be tolerated. If this is indeed the arsonist who put a man’s family in mortal danger, he should not see anything but concrete walls for a long, long time.
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