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Recently surfaced video shows the horrifying moment an arsonist Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s home was bombed – As attack suspect pleads guilty to attempted murder and other charges.
Cody Alan Balmer, 38, also entered plea to charges terrorExcited arsontheft, increase assaultReckless endangerment and loitering in connection with the April attack caused millions of dollars in damage to the Democratic governor’s mansion.
Under a plea agreement, Balmer was sentenced to 25 to 50 years in prison. prison,
During Tuesday’s hearing, the court was shown footage of Balmer breaking windows and throwing Molotov cocktails at a Harrisburg mansion during the early morning hours of April 13. He broke down the fence to gain access to the property before setting fire to a section of the house.
Other footage shows Ballmer inside the residence – which has been occupied by the state’s seven previous governors – attempting and failing to force his way through several doors. The video shows Balmer kicking and throwing his body at the doors, appearing not to move, before walking away.
During a press conference held Tuesday, Shapiro said the footage showed that Balmer had broken into the residence “all the way down to the door that leads to the hallway where we were in our private living quarters.”
“I know those videos are hair-raising. They’ve been haunting me for months, I’ve been trying to watch them for the last six months,” he said, adding that it was impossible for him and his family to be in their home and not think about Balmer and the violent acts he wanted to commit against them.
“I think we need real accountability for acts of political violence, and real accountability for the violence that happened in Pennsylvania today,” Shapiro said.
In a 911 call about an hour after starting the fire, Balmer admitted to planning the attack because of Shapiro’s stance on Israel amid the war with Hamas. Balmer told the dispatcher that he would “not participate in the plans of what they want to do to the Palestinian people.”
The governor has said he supports a two-state solution in which “Israelis and Palestinians live side by side in peace, able to decide their own future and their own destiny.”
On the night of the attack, the first night of Passover, a Jewish holiday, Shapiro, his family and several guests had celebrated with a Seder. Everyone was sleeping at the time of the attack and was forced to come out amidst the smoke. No one was injured, although Ballmer was charged with 21 counts of reckless endangerment due to there being so many people in the house at the time.
Balmer said the attack occurred on a Jewish holiday. associated Press A May letter said Shapiro’s faith played no role in his decision.
“He may be a Jew, a Muslim or a purple people-eater, as long as he leaves me and my family alone, for all I care,” Ballmer wrote.
The 38-year-old man admitted to “having a hatred” towards Shapiro and said that if he had seen him during the break-in he would have beaten him with a hammer. Balmer, who is from Harrisburg, had a previous conviction for allegedly attacking members of his family.
Days after his arrest, Balmer’s mother said she tried to get him help for mental health issues, but “nobody helped.”
His ex-girlfriend also said that Balmer had stopped taking his medications and was missing just days before the attack, before turning up at her brother’s house during an apparent mental health crisis.
Balmer’s attorney said court proceedings have been delayed while he receives mental health treatment.
During a court hearing a few days after the fire, Balmer told a judge that he was an unemployed welder with no income or savings and “a lot of kids.”
Shapiro and his seven predecessors have called the 29,000-square-foot mansion home, which also hosts art exhibitions and public events. The residence, which was built in 1968, did not have sprinklers.
Officials are working to repair the damage to the building and improve its safety.
With reporting from the Associated Press.