The Pennsylvania man who set Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home on fire with two Molotov cocktails earlier this year pleaded guilty on Tuesday.
Cody Balmer, 38, copped to terrorism, attempted murder, 22 counts of arson and several other crimes in connection with the middle-of-the-night attack on Shapiro’s home while the governor and his family slept inside.
Balmer was sentenced to 25 to 50 years in prison and will first be eligible for parole in 2050, the Dauphin County District Attorney’s office said in a press release. No one was injured in the attack.
Shapiro and his family had just celebrated the first night of Passover on April 12 and were sleeping soundly in the governor’s mansion in Harrisburg when Balmer broke in around 2 a.m. on April 13, authorities said.
Balmer scaled an outdoor fence, slipped past security officers who had been alerted to an intruder and broke into the governor’s home through a window. Prosecutors on Tuesday released four videos of Balmer inside and outside the home.
While inside, Balmer tossed a beer bottle filled with gasoline to start the blaze in one room, then attempted to break down multiple doors, including one leading to where the governor and his family slept.
However, the doors held firm, so Balmer ignited his second Molotov cocktail, tossed it in the home and fled the scene, police said.
The day after the attack, Balmer called 911 and confessed his actions. He told the dispatcher that Shapiro “needs to know that he will not take part in his plans for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people.”
During the call, Balmer also said he would’ve attacked Shapiro with the small sledgehammer he used to break in, prosecutors said. Balmer’s family said they tried unsuccessfully to get him treated for unspecified mental health issues in the months before his attack.
With News Wire Services
