Investigators scrutinize potential motives for attack on Pennsylvania governor’s residence
HARRISBURG — The district attorney prosecuting a man accused of setting fire to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s official residence said Friday that investigators are assessing whether religious or political bias could explain why he expressed “hatred” for the Democratic leader.
Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo said they are trying to flesh out a statement by police in the arrest affidavit that Cody Balmer “admitted to harboring hatred towards” Shapiro, who is Jewish. Balmer is accused of breaking into the home in Harrisburg in the dead of night early Sunday and igniting two beer bottles containing gasoline, causing extensive damage but no injuries.
“We’re continuing to look at that and how long the animus had existed in his mind,” Chardo told the Associated Press.
Police affidavits also pointed to a comment by Balmer regarding how Palestinian people are treated.
“Whether it’s a religious bias or it’s a political view, either way, it’s improper to resolve such differences through violence,” Chardo said. “And that’s the bottom line.”
“Attacking the governor's residence with fire just, you know, exacerbates the nature of the offense. And so whether it’s on the basis of religion or political differences, either way, that’s not the way we resolve our differences in a civilized society,” the prosecutor said.
The governor said he’ll leave it to prosecutors to determine what prompted the attack. “It’s not for me to answer that,” Shapiro said.
Chardo said the suspect’s electronics were being examined. Warrants to search several smartphones, a laptop computer and a hard drive said they would look for any references to Shapiro, Israel, Palestinians or Gaza. But Chardo stopped short of saying whether he thinks antisemitism, religious bias or a political motive were factors.
A charge of ethnic intimidation under Pennsylvania's hate crime law, which serves to make a sentence more severe, wouldn't affect Balmer's sentence if he's convicted, since he’s already charged with first-degree felonies that carry the most serious penalties, Chardo said.
“If religious bias was part of it, was a motive, that is certainly relevant,” Chardo said. “We're not dismissing that, but it would go to the sentencing within the statutory maximum.”
Balmer has been jailed since turning himself in, on charges that include attempted homicide, arson, assault and burglary. He has not entered a plea.
Family members have said the 38-year-old unemployed welder who lives with his parents has a history of mental illness and has at times not taken medication for bipolar disorder.
Balmer himself called 911 less than an hour after the fire, police wrote. Exactly what he 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 needs to know that he '...will not take part in his plans for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people,'” police wrote.
Balmer's court-appointed lawyers may seek to delay Wednesday's preliminary hearing so the court can determine if he's competent to stand trial.
“The allegations, if true, demonstrate the devastating consequences of severe mental illness,” Dauphin County public defender Mary Klatt said.
Speaking for himself, Balmer told a district judge on Monday that he did not suffer from any mental illness.
“That's the rumor, but no, ma'am,” he said.
Chardo said any competency review would focus whether Balmer is currently capable of aiding in his own defense, as opposed to a potential insanity claim that would hinge on the defendant's mental health at the time of the crimes.
“It would be the burden on the defense to demonstrate that he is not” able to help in his defense, Chardo said. Evaluating him now might make sense, Chardo said, because if the issue gets raised at trial it will be harder to look back and determine if he had previously been mentally competent.
“Better to evaluate at the time,” Chardo said.
Police affidavits say Balmer was asked what he might have done had he encountered Shapiro while in the mansion — and that he said he would have hit the governor with a sledgehammer.
State police said Friday they hired a former state police commissioner, Jeffrey Miller, to conduct an independent security review. Miller and his team are expected to begin interviews and visit the site next week.
Police have alleged Balmer climbed over a tall iron security fence, eluded officers who became aware of the breach and broke windows to get inside as he set bottles of gasoline on fire in the rooms where Shapiro's family had held a Passover Seder that night. State troopers roused the family at around 2 a.m. and led them to safety as the fire caused millions of dollars in damage.
