HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Pennsylvania man who set fire to the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion as the governor’s family slept inside has pleaded guilty to attempted murder, arson, and terrorism charges.
Cody Balmer was accused of using beer bottles filled with gasoline to set fire to the home where Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family live, The Associated Press reported. The attack happened on April 13 and Balmer entered his guilty plea in court on Tuesday.
He entered pleas on charges including: attempted murder, terrorism, 22 counts of arson, aggravated arson, burglary, aggravated assault of the governor, 21 counts of reckless endangerment and loitering.
The 22 and 21 counts are in relation to the number of people at the mansion at the time, including children and two state troopers, WHP reported.
Balmer received a 25 to 50-year prison sentence, the AP reported. He will not be eligible for parole until 2050.
No one was hurt in the attack, but it did do millions of dollars in damage to the state’s executive residence. The home is owned by the state and repairs are being done to fix the damage.
The Dauphin County District Attorney released surveillance video of the attack, WPVI reported.
Balmer told police he had planned to attack the governor with a small sledgehammer if he had come across Shapiro on the night of April 13. Balmer climbed a fence, broke into the southern wing of the home, and entered a room that is used to entertain and display art.
The attack happened during the Passover weekend. The governor is Jewish, but his religion had nothing to do with Balmer’s plans, he told the AP in May in a letter.
“He can be Jewish, Muslim, or a purple people eater for all I care and as long as he leaves me and mine alone,” Balmer wrote.
When asked in a video interview about his motive, he did not disclose it to the AP, who had asked why he targeted Shapiro. Balmer responded, “I’m not going to answer that.”
But when Balmer called 911 and confessed, he allegedly told the dispatcher that the governor, “needs to know that he ‘will not take part in his plans for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people,' " WPVI reported.
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