Thirty-eight-year-old Cody Balmer allegedly hopped a security fence, snuck into the official residence of Governor Josh Shapiro, and ignited a fire.
This occurred just hours after the governor celebrated Passover with his family.
The fire scorched a historic part of the Harrisburg home, leaving charred furniture, shattered glass, and shaken nerves behind.
Balmer now faces a stack of charges: attempted murder, terrorism, aggravated arson, and more.
Authorities say he came armed with a homemade incendiary device and had clearly planned his move.
The Governor Isn’t Backing Down
“I refuse to be trapped by the bondage someone attempted to put on me,” he said, invoking the very message of liberation told during Passover.
“This kind of violence is becoming far too common… and it has to stop.”
Investigators are still digging for a motive, and the Justice Department is stepping in.
But as Shapiro put it: “We have to be better than this.”
Because when leaders are under attack at home, the real fire we need to put out is the one spreading in our society.
