The man accused of setting fire to Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s residence in a shocking arson attack on the first day of Pesach has now admitted to targeting the Democratic governor because of his stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—and his Jewishness.
According to newly unsealed search warrants obtained by PennLive, 38-year-old Cody Balmer told a 911 operator he lit the fire in protest of “what [Shapiro] wants to do to the Palestinian people.” Balmer also allegedly declared during the call, “You all know where to find me. I’m not hiding, and I will confess to everything that I had done.”
State police confirmed the fire was politically and ideologically motivated, saying that Balmer “targeted Shapiro based upon perceived injustices to the people of Palestine” and his Jewish faith.
The fire came just hours after Shapiro hosted a Pesach seder (of sorts) with his family inside the residence. Though the family was home at the time of the attack, they were able to evacuate, and no injuries were reported.
Balmer has been charged with domestic terrorism, aggravated arson, attempted criminal homicide, and other felonies. He turned himself in to police Sunday, allegedly confessing in full.
Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s first Jewish governor, has been vocal in his support for Israel. While he has not commented publicly on Balmer’s stated motives, his office confirmed the governor and his family are safe and cooperating with the ongoing investigation.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
4 Responses
Lock this savage in a lock stocks barrel, and set it alight in public square.
The dichotomy presented by the headline and its accompanying photo is truly laughable. When a clearly much less than 100% human being espouses his “philosophies”, why would we care what he says? The article, however, is informative and sensible, with little emphasis on his “wisdom” and more on the fact that he is not denying anything. The headline is not really on target with the article, and the picture is ridiculous.
Just sayin’…
Looks like a loony liberal
YWN depicts him as a total fool, an idiot, a madman who does not realize he is spouting nonsense. If that is true, we probably have nothing to worry about.
An alternative examination of the facts, it that is a terrorist who is quite sane and well connected to the left wing political networks that have been engaging in acts of terrorism directed, among others, against Jews. If that’s true, we have much to be concerned about.