A man who allegedly broke into Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home early Sunday morning and set it on fire has been arrested and is facing multiple charges, including attempted murder and terrorism, authorities said.
Cody Balmer, 38, reportedly scaled the 7-foot-high fence outside the Shapiro home and broke into the mansion, Pennsylvania State Police Col. Christopher Paris said during a press conference held on Sunday evening. Authorities said Balmer set a fire that caused significant damage and forced the family to evacuate.
Balmer is currently in police custody at a hospital after an unrelated medical event, Pennsylvania police said on Monday.
Balmer told authorities he was angry with Shapiro and would have beat him with a hammer if Shapiro had confronted him in the house, according to an affidavit filed by state police.
Shapiro, his wife, their four children, and another family celebrated the Jewish Passover holiday at his home that Saturday. State troopers woke them up around 2 a.m. ET on Sunday after someone called emergency services reporting the fire, and firefighters extinguished the blaze. No one was injured.
What we know about the suspect, Cody Balmer
Balmer told police he took gasoline from a lawn mower and put it in beer bottles, which he then threw into the household, according to the affidavit. In addition to facing charges of attempted murder and terrorism, Balmer is also facing charges of aggravated arson and aggravated assault.
While officers stationed at the household were alerted that someone had climbed the fence, Balmer was only inside the house for about a minute before he escaped, Lt. Col. George Bivens said at the Sunday press conference.
“He clearly had a plan,” Bivens said. “He was very methodical in his approach.”
Video surveillance showed Balmer climbing the fence before approaching a room on the southwestern side of the house, the affidavit said. Balmer smashed a window with a hammer and then threw something into the room, which caused flames to erupt. Footage showed Balmer went to another window, smashed the glass and climbed inside. The affidavit states he deployed an “incendiary device” in the dining room that caused another fire, then exited the house.
Investigators said they found two broken beer bottles with gasoline inside the dining room.
After he had left Shapiro’s home, Balmer turned himself in to police headquarters. A woman who identified herself as his ex-partner called police to report Balmer, saying he had confessed to her that he started the fire, the affidavit says.
Balmer also told police he knew Shapiro and his family members might have been at home while he was setting the fire.
Balmer was expected to show up in court sometime this week for a plea hearing in a separate case from a 2023 assault charge, CNN reported. Balmer also previously pleaded guilty in 2016 to forgery and theft by deception charges.
Balmer has been transported to the Dauphin County Prison for arraignment and is awaiting a preliminary hearing, NBC News reported. On Sunday, Pennsylvania State Police reiterated that the investigation into Balmer and his motives for setting the fire is ongoing.
‘We have to be better than this,’ Gov. Shapiro says
Shapiro said Sunday that the fire was not just an attack on his family — but on “the entire commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”
“This type of violence is not OK. This kind of violence is becoming far too common in our society,” Shapiro said. “I don’t give a damn if it’s coming from one particular side or the other, directed at one particular party or another or one particular person or another. It is not OK, and it has to stop. We have to be better than this.”
Shapiro has served as the governor of Pennsylvania since 2023 and was the attorney general of Pennsylvania before that. Shapiro was considered a finalist to become former Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris's vice president running mate and is currently viewed as a potential Democratic contender for the 2028 presidential election.
“If this individual was trying to deter me from doing my job as your governor, rest assured, I will find a way to work even harder than I was,” he said on Sunday.
The room in Shaprio’s home that suffered the most damage from the fire was where he had hosted Passover on Saturday.
“If he was trying to terrorize our family, our friends, the Jewish community, who joined us for a Passover Seder in that room last night, hear me on this: we celebrated our faith last night, proudly. And in a few hours, we will celebrate our second Seder of Passover,” he said. “No one will deter me or my family, or any Pennsylvanian from celebrating their faith openly and proudly.”
Politicians, Justice Department offer support
The FBI's Philadelphia field office, the Department of Justice and the Dauphin County District Attorney's office have pledged their help to state police investigating the situation, Shapiro said at Sunday's press conference.
Shapiro also noted that he’d received numerous messages of support from governors and others.
"Thanks be to God that Governor Shapiro and his family were unharmed in this attack," Vice President JD Vance posted on X. "Really disgusting violence, and I hope whoever did it is brought swiftly to justice."
Public officials have dealt with a surge in violent threats over the last few years. In 2020, there was a publicized plot to kidnap Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer; in 2022, a man attacked Paul Pelosi, the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, with a hammer; and just last year, there were two assassination attempts against President Donald Trump.
