Pro-Palestinian sentiment fueled arson attack on Jewish Pennsylvania governor, according to police

Cody Balmer, the suspect in the arson attack on the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion, was allegedly motivated by what he perceived as Governor Josh Shapiro’s anti-Palestinian stance, according to a police warrant.

Gov. Shapiro celebrated the first night of Passover with dozens of friends and family just shortly before the arson attack.

According to the search warrant, Balmer climbed a 2-meter-high (7-foot) fence before smashing a window of the mansion and tossing in a gasoline-filled bottle.

He then broke another window, climbed inside, and set off another Molotov cocktail before fleeing, causing Shapiro and his family to be evacuated from their home at around 2 a.m.

Balmer later identified himself on a 911 call, stating that Shapiro “needs to know that he ‘will not take part in his plans for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people’.”

Shapiro needs to “stop having my friends killed” and “our people have been put through too much by that monster,” he added.

“You all know where to find me. I’m not hiding, and I will confess to everything that I have done,” Balmer continued. He had reportedly being treated for mental illness, but had been off his medication at the time of the attack.

The police warrant stated that Balmer targeted Shapiro “based upon perceived injustices to the people of Palestine” and because of his Jewish faith. However, the police haven’t decided yet whether to charge Balmer with “ethnic intimidation.”

“This kind of violence has no place in our society regardless of what motivates it,” Shapiro said at a news conference on Wednesday, his first public comments since the incident.

Gilad Kariv, a Knesset Member of The Democrats party, wrote in a letter of support to Shapiro: “I was relieved to learn that your family members and guests were not physically harmed, and I sincerely hope that the emotional impact will be as minimal as possible."

The arson on Passover, wrote Kariv, "was an assault on the values of freedom, tolerance, and religious faith.”

"We believe it is our duty to stand by every Jew, including when it comes to a leading public figure devoted to strengthening his community and preserving the democratic fabric of American society."

Shapiro has not taken a strong stance on either side of the Gaza War, holding a middle position within the Democratic Party.

While he condemned the University of Pennsylvania for its lackluster response to anti-Israel protests on campus, he called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “a dangerous and destructive force” and “one of the worst leaders of all time.”

When Shapiro was in the running as a potential vice presidential candidate for Kamala Harris, Shapiro declared support for the two-state solution.

“I have said for years, years before October 7, that I favor a two-state solution – Israelis and Palestinians living peacefully side-by-side, being able to determine their own futures and their own destiny.”

Despite this, he faced strong intra-party criticism from progressives, some of whom dubbed him “Genocide Josh” for not taking a stronger stance against Israel’s actions in Gaza.