Footage of man’s fiery rampage in governor’s mansion released

The Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office released footage on Tuesday that allegedly shows Cody Balmer committing arson at Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home in April.

Balmer pleaded guilty to dozens of charges on Tuesday, including attempted homicide, terrorism, and aggravated arson, according to a summary from the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas. The district attorney’s office released four videos of the April 13 attack on the governor’s mansion.

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The footage allegedly shows Balmer walking up to the mansion, breaking a window, and throwing a Molotov cocktail inside, igniting a fire. It then shows him allegedly breaking a second window with the sledgehammer and entering the mansion through it.

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While inside the mansion, the footage allegedly shows Balmer failing to break through two doors before using another Molotov cocktail to set fire to a dining room. He then allegedly fled the residence, according to the district attorney’s office.

“At the time Balmer set the fires within the Governor’s Residence, Governor Shapiro, the First Lady, three of their children, fifteen overnight guests, including other members of the Governor’s family, and two Pennsylvania State Police Troopers were all inside the Governor’s Residence,” according to the district attorney’s office. “The set fires substantially endangered these twenty-two individuals … Eight of those endangered individuals were children ranging in age from 8 years old to 16 years old.”

Shapiro spoke to the press following Balmer’s guilty plea on Tuesday.

“It’s especially hard to know that he tried to burn our family to death while we slept,” he said.

Shapiro is Jewish, and the arson took place over the holiday of Passover. Balmer said he “will not take part in [Shapiro’s] plans for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people,” according to a warrant.

He received a state prison sentence of 25 years to 50 years, according to the district attorney’s office.

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