HARRISBURG - The man accused of setting fire to Gov. Josh Shapiro's home was arraigned yesterday in Dauphin County and denied bail.
Cody Balmer was arrested and charged with offenses like aggravated arson and attempted murder early April 14 and then was been hospitalized for a "medical event," Pennlive.com reported.
Though court officials originally said he wouldn't be arraigned later that day, that later changed.
Police documents say Balmer was seen climbing a perimeter fence with a bag and breaking a window at the governor's residence.
He threw Molotov cocktail through the window, entered the house and deployed another in the dining room. A former girlfriend said Balmer confessed to her and wanted her to call police to turn him in.
Once Balmer turned himself in, he was asked what he would have done if Shapiro would have found him in the house.
Balmer responded that he would have beaten him with a hammer. A hatred of Shapiro, a Democrat and former state attorney general seen as a potential Presidential candidate in 2028, appears to be Balmer's motive.
Court staff is working to find court records from Balmer's past. A search of Dauphin County's court shows two custody agreements and a foreclosure action on his Harrisburg home that was settled earlier this year.
Shapiro held a press conference today and posted on X, "Last night at the Governor's Residence, we experienced an attack not just on our family, but on the entire Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This kind of violence has become far too common in our society, and it has to stop."
Shapiro and others were evacuated after the fire started around 2 a.m., with no injuries reported.