Cody Balmer’s firebomb attack on Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro driven by antisemitism, ‘what he wants to do to Palestinian people’: cops

The madman who carried out a firebomb attack on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home was driven by antisemitism and fury over what the Democrat “wants to do to the Palestinian people” – and called the Jewish governor a “monster,” police alleged in a search warrant.

Alleged firebug Cody Balmer, 38, called 911 following the Sunday attack, identified himself by name, and delivered the chilling message addressed to the governor over the phone, according to warrant details obtained by The Post.

Balmer said he needed to know that Shapiro — who had hosted Passover dinner just hours before the attack — “will not take part in his plans for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people,” the police warrant read.

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He also said the governor needed to stop killing his friends, telling police “Our people have been put through too much by that monster” and that “all he has is a banquet hall to clean up.”

“You all know where to find me. I’m not hiding, and I will confess to everything that I had done,” Balmer allegedly told a 911 operator over the phone, according to the warrant.

Prosecutors say the phone call indicates antisemitism and anti-Israel beliefs were behind Balmer’s alleged attack.

“That’s what we are looking at. The clip that we heard would support that,” Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo told The Post.

“We are going to continue to look at that, and as mode of evidence and as an aggregator at sentencing, that would be a good argument,” he added. “It’s still early on and we are still collecting evidence.”

But even if antisemitism is found to be the motivation, Chardo said adding a hate crime charge wouldn’t change Balmer’s sentencing if he’s found guilty.

“Pennsylvania hate crimes statute would just increase the grade of the offense, that’s all it does. We’ve got five first degree felonies that we’ve charged. It doesn’t get any higher than that,” Chardo said.

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State police said the accused arsonist targeted the Democratic governor “based upon perceived injustices to the people of Palestine” as well as his Jewish faith, the warrant states.

Shapiro, 51, has been a strong supporter of Israel and criticized anti-Israel protests in his state, calling the targeting of Jewish businesses “blatant antisemitism.” The state pol also said he supports a two-state solution wants Palestinian and Jewish people to live in peace.

His Jewish faith became the focus of national attention when he was reported to be one the top choices to be Kamala Harris’ running-mate. Many anti-Israel activists in the Democratic party opposed him being picked.

Police said Balmer scaled a fence, used a hammer to break a window and hurled Molotov cocktails into the historic governor’s residence as Shapiro and his family slept around 2 a.m. Sunday.

He allegedly told cops he made the Molotov cocktails out of Heineken bottles and gasoline from a lawn mower. The governor and his family were able to safely evacuate, but the homemade incendiary devices caused millions of dollars of damage to the state-owned mansion.

The sicko also allegedly said he would have beaten Shapiro with a hammer if he’d found him during the firebombing attack, according to a criminal complaint.

Pennsylvania State Police obtained warrants for Balmer’s parents’ home, where he was living, for electronic devices, and for a storage unit, more warrant details obtained by PennLive showed.

Pennsylvania State Police obtained warrants for Balmer’s parents’ home, where he was living, for electronic devices, and for a storage unit, according to PennLive.

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Investigators did not find any references to Israel, Palestine or the governor in the storage unit, according to the report.

Still, the alleged arsonist has had previous run-ins with the law. 

Balmer was out on bail for a simple assault charge at the time of the attack — accused of stomping on his 10-year-old son’s broken leg and battering his estranged wife, according to a police report.

Family members attempted to have him committed to a mental institution in the days prior to the arson attack.

Mother Christie Balmer told CBS News that her son was “mentally ill and he went off his medication” prior to the firebombing.

The worried mother went so far as to reach out to Penbrook Borough police two days before the attack to ask for help after her son had left their home and vanished.

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Follow the latest on the arson attack at Josh Shapiro’s residence:

• Suspected arsonist Cody Balmer targeted Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home over what pol ‘wants to do to Palestinian people’: report
• Cops confirm suspected arsonist Cody Balmer’s mom tried to have him committed 3 days before attack on gov’s house — but they couldn’t do anything
• Pa. madman who firebombed Gov. Shapiro’s home is ‘domestic terrorist’ and should be sent to El Salvador hellhole prison, fire chief says
• New photos inside Gov. Shapiro’s residence reveal level of destruction from arson attack

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Christie Balmer was told by police they couldn’t intervene because the 38-year-old hadn’t made a threat against himself or others, which is the threshold for involuntary commitment in the state of Pennsylvania.

Balmer had wrapped his phone in aluminum foil to prevent it from receiving signals in the days before the attack, search warrants revealed.

The alleged arsonist turned himself in to police at state headquarters in Harrisburg on Sunday.

As he was led out of Pennsylvania district court Monday, Balmer taunted reporters — sticking his tongue out and making faces at photographers.

He has been charged with eight crimes, including attempted murder, burglary, aggravated arson, and terrorism. He faces up to 100 years in prison.

Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo has not said whether Balmer will face charges of “ethnic intimidation” — the state’s version of hate crime statutes.

No one was injured in the attack and Shapiro vowed to remain undaunted in the wake of the jarring incident.

“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,” Shapiro said in a statement after the arson attack.