The story is chilling and awful. A suspect has been arrested after the Pennsylvania Governor’s house was targeted in an arson attack in the dead of night on Sunday morning.

Governor Josh Shapiro, who was a possible vice-presidential candidate for Kamala Harris at one point, and is on the short list of front-runners in a potential Democrat presidential primary, recounted the events of early Sunday morning on X.

Last night at about 2AM, my family and I woke up to bangs on the door from the Pennsylvania State Police after an arsonist set fire to the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg.

The Harrisburg Bureau of Fire was on the scene and while they worked to put out the fire, we were…

— Governor Josh Shapiro (@GovernorShapiro) April 13, 2025

The full post reads:

Last night at about 2AM, my family and I woke up to bangs on the door from the Pennsylvania State Police after an arsonist set fire to the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg.

The Harrisburg Bureau of Fire was on the scene and while they worked to put out the fire, we were evacuated from the Residence safely by Pennsylvania State Police and assisted by Capitol Police. Thank God no one was injured and the fire was extinguished.

Every day, we stand with the law enforcement and first responders who run towards danger to protect our communities. Last night, they did so for our family – and Lori and I are eternally grateful to them for keeping us safe.

@PAStatePolice is on the scene leading this investigation and will keep the public updated.

The images coming out of the governor’s house are horrifying. Remember, Shapiro, his wife, and his four children were all in the home when this happened. This was also Passover weekend, and the Shapiros were also apparently hosting guests who were also evacuated as the fire spread.

Shapiro, who is Jewish, became visibly emotional as he spoke about the 2 a.m. attack on his home as he and his family slept inside.

“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.

While thanking the public for their well wishes in the wake of the attack, Shapiro took a stand against political violence.

“This type of violence is not okay. This kind of violence is becoming far too common in our society, and I don’t give a damn if it’s coming from one particular side or the other. Directed at one particular party or another, one particular person or another. It is not OK. And it has to stop, we have to be better than this. We have a responsibility to all be better,” Shapiro said.

This was no joke. The arsonist could have killed everyone inside.

If you wondered about the raw emotion from @GovernorShapiro in that press conference these photos speak as to why— this was a fast moving fire and it was meant to inflict harm. He’s not just a governor. He’s a father and a husband and his family was there. pic.twitter.com/7JlEDaL8Hm

— ZitoSalena (@ZitoSalena) April 13, 2025

Fortunately, a suspect has been identified and arrested.

At a Sunday evening news conference in front of the badly damaged south wing of the governor’s residence, Pennsylvania State Police Col. Christopher Paris identified the man in custody as Cody Balmer, 38, of Harrisburg.

Authorities said the suspect hopped over a nearly 7-foot-high iron security fence surrounding the property, eluded officers who became aware of the breach and forcibly entered the residence before setting it on fire.

Lt. Col. George Bivens said Balmer had a homemade incendiary device — he would not describe what kind — and appeared to have carefully planned the attack. He was inside the residence for about a minute before he escaped, Bivens said.

Bivens said Balmer was later arrested in the area. Authorities did not say whether Balmer has a lawyer or where he was being held and calls to people believed to be relatives went unanswered or unreturned. One recent listed residence in Harrisburg was condemned in 2022.

Balmer has faced criminal charges over the past decade including simple assault, theft and forgery, according to online criminal court records.

This raises a whole lot of questions about the security measures around the governor’s home. It’s apparent that the suspect broke the window, and if he had “a homemade incendiary device,” then it wouldn’t have taken very long to shatter a window, throw it in, and run for it. But to scale a fence without detection, get close enough to break and enter the house, and then get away from the scene? Cameras and security systems can only record events, not be on hand when the bad guy shows up. Just who was on duty, and where were they?

The real question is, what was the motive for the alleged arsonist? And will the media continue to make this front-page news if the suspect fails to fit their narrative?

No explicitly political content on Cody Balmer's FB page, but … https://t.co/mP7spAhEQc pic.twitter.com/f8D47QC3ar

— The Patriarch Tree (@PatriarchTree) April 13, 2025

If the suspect, as Shapiro alleges, was targeting him and his family explicitly for their Jewish faith, then the media will be in a massive quandary. After all, they have too often downplayed the impact of anti-Semitism leaching out like poison from college campuses and flowed into the mainstream. We don’t know Balmer’s political leanings (though some evidence that he called himself a “socialist” has been dug up via social media), but if he was motivated by anti-Semitism, then will the media look away from, or make excuses for, this crime? Josh Shapiro is currently the most prominent Jewish Democrat. Targeting him is no accident if someone is trying to make a political statement. Will Squad members speak up and condemn an attack on a Democrat governor? Don’t hold your breath waiting.

Fortunately, mainstream right and left are united in their support of Shapiro. The governor himself thanked FBI Director Kash Patel for his support, and Vice President Vance, among others, have condemned the arson attack.

Several politicians wrote messages of support for Shapiro after the incident with Vice President JD Vance calling it “really disgusting violence.”

“I hope whoever did it is brought swiftly to justice,” Vance added on X.

Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote that she was “deeply relieved” Shapiro and his family were safe. She also applauded “police work that resulted in an arrest” in a post on X.

Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania described the attack as “truly appalling” in a post on X.

“Whoever did this must be held to the fullest extent of the law,” he wrote.

Amen to that. The Dauphin County District Attorney, Fran Chardo, who currently has charge of the case, says that Balmer will be charged with “attempted murder, terrorism, aggravated arson and aggravated assault against an enumerated person,” and that possible federal charges could be in play. Throw the book at him. But if the motive was indeed anti-Semitism, will the media dare to admit that there is a deep vein of bigotry running through the country right now, and the target is the Jewish community? Even after October 7th, they have winked and nodded as hostage posters are ripped down and ignored Americans being held by Hamas. Ignoring the escalating rhetoric and violence may have led directly to this arson and attempted murder. We will have to wait and see if Governor Shapiro is correct about the motive.

Featured image: handcuffs criminal via iStock, cropped and modified