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A Pennsylvania judge on Monday denied bond for the man accused of breaking into the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion early Sunday morning and setting fire to it while the governor, his family, and multiple guests were sleeping.
The fire caused millions of dollars in damage to the home, which was built in 1968 and did not have a sprinkler system. Gov. Josh Shapiro, his family, and the guests were all evacuated when state troopers roused them from their sleep at about 2 a.m., according to The Associated Press. No one was injured.
The Shapiros and another family, along with members of the Harrisburg Jewish community, had marked the first night of Passover on Saturday night.
“When we were in the state dining room last night, we told the story of Passover” and the exodus of the Jews from slavery in Egypt to freedom, he said on Sunday. “I refuse to be trapped by the bondage that someone attempts to put on me by attacking us as they did here last night. I refuse to let anyone who had evil intentions like that stop me from doing the work that I love.”
Investigators say that Cory Balmer, a 38-year-old American citizen, scaled a 7 foot high, iron security fence, then eluded security officers on the scene before he broke into the residence and set the fire. Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said Balmer used a “homemade incendiary device” to set the fire and was inside for a about a minute before he fled.
He was arrested later in the day and faces charges that include arson, terrorism, aggravated assault, and attempted homicide.
Court documents say Balmer told police he intended to beat Shapiro with a sledgehammer that he brought with him if he had encountered him after breaking into the residence. His mother told The Associated Press that she had tried to get help for her son for mental health issues, but he told the judge on Monday that he did not have any mental health issues.
A police affidavit said that Balmer walked from his home to the governor’s resident, about an hour’s walk, and told detectives during an interview that he harbored “hatred towards Governor Shapiro.” The affidavit did not provide any details.
Shapiro served as Pennsylvania’s attorney general from 2017 until 2023, when he was elected the state’s governor, handily defeating his Republican opponent.
After setting the fire, Balmer reportedly returned to his home, where police found the clothing he was wearing during the incident and a small sledgehammer.
Balmer surrendered at state police headquarters, the affidavit said. He reportedly confessed to a former romantic partner and asked her to call police. In court on Monday, he did not enter a plea. He reportedly told the court he was an unemployed welder with no income, not savings, and “a lot of children.”
He was already due in court later this week for an assault charge, accused of punching two relatives and stepping on a child’s leg, which was already broken.
