Arson Suspect in Gov. Josh Shapiro House Fire Allegedly Revealed His Motive in Seething 911 Call

The man accused of starting a house fire at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s residence allegedly revealed his motive in a phone call to police after the attack, according to new documents.

Authorities previously alleged that in the early morning hours of Sunday, April 13, Cody Balmer, 38, scaled a wall outside Shapiro’s Harrisburg, Pa., mansion, smashed windows and threw homemade incendiary devices inside before entering himself.

No one was injured in the blaze, but parts of the official governor’s residence were badly damaged. Shapiro and his family — who hosted a Passover dinner hours before the attack — were safely evacuated around 2 a.m. local time.

An hour after the intruder left the residence, Balmer allegedly placed a call to police where he turned himself in and expressed a possible motive for the attack, according to newly released search warrants obtained by The New York Times, CNN and USA Today.

“You all know where to find me,” he allegedly told police on the call, according to the documents. “I’m not hiding, and I will confess to everything that I had done.” 

Balmer appeared to be politically motivated, telling police he was “harboring hatred” for Shapiro — who is Jewish — over his perception of the Democratic governor’s stance in the Israel-Gaza war. He told the dispatcher that he “will not take part in [Shapiro’s] plans for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people.”

“He needs to stop having my friends killed,” Balmer added. “Our people have been put through too much by that monster.”

Shapiro has expressed support for Israel amid its large-scale attacks on Palestinians, and has been a leading voice in speaking out against the rise of antisemitism in the United States.

He notably divided Democrats in 2024 when he called on the University of Pennsylvania to disband a student encampment of pro-Palestinian protestors.

Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo told local NBC affiliate WGAL that he plans to use Balmer’s statements as evidence that he targeted Shapiro over his religion, making the arson a hate crime. Balmer is also facing charges including arson, attempted murder and more.

Balmer’s mother, Christie Balmer, told multiple news outlets that her son had mental health issues and “wasn’t taking his medication,” according to The Associated Press.

According to a criminal complaint obtained by PEOPLE on April 14, Balmer also told police that he planned to attack Shapiro with a hammer if he encountered him while in the residence.

However, when speaking with reporters on April 16, the governor told reporters he was unshaken by the attack.

“Nothing he could do would deter me from doing my job as governor. Nothing he could do would deter me from proudly and openly practicing my faith,” Shapiro said.

While speaking to reporters on April 14, Harrisburg Fire Chief Brian Enterline said “it was a very surreal scene” when he arrived to help tackle the blaze “about 15 minutes into it,” per a clip shared by Fox News.

Enterline said that he asked Pennsylvania State Police to bring in the arson investigation team after seeing the evidence.

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He recalled of the fire, “Luckily, for the governor and his family, there were doors closed between that main portion of the ballroom and the hallway that leads to the main and master staircase going to the second floor.”

“It would have been a totally different fire and a totally different outcome, most likely, had that door not been closed,” the fire chief added, per the clip shared by Fox News.