Anti-Israel Man Pleads Guilty After Terrorizing Pennsylvania Governor’s Home

A man who expressed anti-Israel views and called Pennsylvania Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro a “monster” pleaded guilty to all charges on Tuesday morning after firebombing the Governor’s Residence in April.

Cody Balmer, 38, pleaded guilty to charges of attempted homicide and terrorism, along with dozens of arson-related charges, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Balmer was sentenced to 25 to 50 years in prison.

Balmer scaled the property fence and broke into the Pennsylvania Governor’s Residence at around 2:00 a.m. on April 13, shortly after Shapiro — who is Jewish — finished celebrating Passover with his family. The arsonist lit multiple homemade incendiary devices and threw them on the floor inside the home as Shapiro and his family slept, security footage shows. Balmer then fled the property.

Video inside Gov. Shapiro’s residence shows the moments Cody Balmer threw Molotov Cocktails inside the residence earlier this year

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After the blaze erupted, the governor and his family were awakened by state troopers and escaped unharmed. The fire damaged much of the home, costing more than $7 million to repair, the Inquirer reported.

Hours after he set the fire, Balmer called police and admitted to the attack, saying that he would not “take part in [Shapiro’s] plans for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people,” The Daily Wire previously reported. Balmer told authorities that he strongly disagreed with Shapiro’s stance on the war between Israel and Hamas and admitted that he would have beaten Shapiro with a hammer if he had encountered the governor during his rampage, according to police documents.

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Balmer had past run-ins with law enforcement, and his mother said that he is “mentally ill and he went off his medication.” In 2023, police responded to a call from Balmer’s home, and he reportedly told police that he attempted suicide with a “bottle full of pills” and got into a fight with his wife and 13-year-old son. His wife alleged that Balmer hit the teenager and punched her in the face and bit her. He was charged with three counts of simple assault at the time.

Last year, as Shapiro was on the shortlist of potential running mates for then-Vice President Kamala Harris, the governor faced intense criticism from many on the Left for his stance on the war in Gaza. Harris ultimately skipped over Shapiro and selected Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz. Shapiro maintained that he was not passed over due to any form of antisemitism within the party.

Balmer’s social media activity shows that he expressed a range of leftist beliefs, while also criticizing former President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump, The New York Post reported. Leftist media personalities like Don Lemon and Joe Scarborough attempted to spin Balmer’s attack as an example of Right-wing violence.