Josh Shapiro Arson Suspect Allegedly Wanted to Beat Pa. Governor with Hammer During Home Invasion: Police

The suspect arrested in connection with a fire at the Harrisburg home of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro allegedly divulged disturbing details about his plan to authorities.

According to a criminal complaint obtained by PEOPLE, Cody Balmer, 38, allegedly admitted to entering the official governor’s residence and igniting several “homemade incendiary devices,” with the intent to “commit a violent offense intending to affect the conduct of government.”

Balmer allegedly told police that he broke into the governor’s residence at around 1:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, April 13, by scaling a perimeter fence and breaking two windows. Officers allege in the complaint that he confessed to throwing homemade Molotov cocktails made of gasoline siphoned from a lawn mower into empty Heineken bottles.

In an interview with Pennsylvania State Police, Balmer allegedly admitted that he was prepared for violence when the home was set ablaze — and he was aware that he would face consequences.

Balmer allegedly expressed hatred for Shapiro, who was considered for the role of Kamala Harris’ running mate in the 2024 presidential election.

When asked what he would have done if Shapiro confronted him in person during the apparent arson attack, Balmer allegedly said he would have beaten the governor with the hammer that he used to break the windows, according to the complaint.

Lt. Col. George Bivens of the PSP said Balmer “clearly had a plan” and was “very methodical in his approach,” per CNN. Bivens added that the suspect was inside the governor’s home for less than a minute and “actively evaded” troopers who were searching for him.

Following his interview with the PSP, Balmer was taken to Dauphin County Prison for arraignment. He has since been charged with attempted murder, terrorism, aggravated arson, burglary, reckless endangerment, loitering and two counts of aggravated assault.

On Sunday, April 13, at approximately 2 a.m. local time, members of the Harrisburg Bureau of Fire “responded to the Governor’s Residence, located on North Front Street, Harrisburg City, Dauphin County, for the report of a fire,” Pennsylvania State Police said in a news release.

Shapiro, 51, was in the home with his family when he “woke up to bangs on the door” from the PSP not long after, he wrote in a statement shared on X.

Images of the aftermath have now been released, with some showing melted furniture, burned walls and the house covered in black soot. 

Other photos showed a ruined couch, destroyed plates and tables and chairs and a light switch ripped out of the wall. There was also an image of a “Passover Crafts” sign on a table after the fire broke out on the first night of the Jewish holiday of Passover. Hours before the blaze, Shapiro had shared a look at his family’s Seder table on social media.

Shapiro, a Democrat, was sworn in as the 48th governor of Pennsylvania in January 2023. He previously served as attorney general from 2017 to 2023, chair of the board of commissioners in Montgomery County from 2011 to 2017 and state representative from 2005 to 2011, per the state’s website.

PEOPLE reached out to the PSP for additional information on April 13.

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The suspected attack on Shapiro and his family comes on the heels of numerous acts of aggression and failed assassination attempts toward powerful political figures, including President Donald Trump on the 2024 campaign trial.

In October 2022, a man named David DePape broke into then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home in the middle of the night while only her husband, Paul Pelosi, was home.

The intruder shouted “Where’s Nancy?” at Paul, and later attacked him with a hammer as authorities arrived on the scene, badly injuring his skull and hand.

DePape was sentenced to life in prison two years after the attack, in October 2024.