Man charged with arson at Pennsylvania governor's home struggled with
mental health, brother says
[April 16, 2025]
By MARK SCOLFORO
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A man accused of setting fire to Pennsylvania
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s mansion over the weekend had struggled with mental
illness, twice being treated at a psychiatric hospital, as his life
unraveled dramatically in the past few years, his brother said Tuesday.
Cody Balmer, 38, had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder but didn’t
believe the assessment, his brother, Dan Balmer, told The Associated
Press. He said he twice helped Cody get treatment at the Pennsylvania
Psychiatric Institute.
Authorities allege Cody Balmer scaled an iron security fence, eluded
police and set the Democratic governor’s official residence ablaze early
Sunday morning. Investigators were combing his background to try to
determine any motive for the attack, including whether it had anything
to do with Shapiro’s politics or Jewish faith.
Dan Balmer said his brother had displayed concerning behavior, including
the night before the fire, when he flipped over a table with a jigsaw
puzzle on top at the home where Cody Balmer lived with their parents.
Cody Balmer previously was charged with punching relatives during a 2023
fight in which he was accused of stepping on a child’s broken leg — a
case still unresolved. Court records also show he had child custody
cases with two women and had faced foreclosure.
“He’s had ups and downs his whole life with the bipolar,” Dan Balmer
said. “He doesn’t believe he’s bipolar, so he doesn’t take his
medicine.”
Cody Balmer also believed his sister-in-law was a witch who had cast a
spell on him, Dan Balmer said. He said his brother had a grudge against
the woman because she pressed for him to get inpatient psychiatric care.
The brothers also disagreed on politics. Cody Balmer, who is registered
as an unaffiliated voter, had always been politically interested and
considered himself “more of an independent than anything else,” but
tried to convince the family to vote for Donald Trump in the 2024
presidential election, said his brother, a Democrat.
Suspect was living with family members
An electrical engineer who lives in the Harrisburg suburbs, Dan Balmer
said he gave his brother a place to live a couple of years ago because
he couldn't afford his apartment.
Cody Balmer seemed like he needed help and agreed to enter the
Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute, but soon “got mad and left” the
facility, Dan Balmer said.
“He had these theories that were going on in his head,” Dan Balmer said.
“We would confront him and say, ‘No, that is not what is happening in
the real world.’ He would get angry.”
Police were called and crisis intervention became involved before Cody
Balmer went back to the Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute less
voluntarily, as a sort of condition of being able to stay with family,
Dan Balmer recalled.
“He was there for a while. He got the clear bill of health. He was on
his meds,” Dan Balmer said.
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Cody Balmer is escorted from court after his preliminary arraignment
on Monday, April 14, 2025, in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Mingson Lau)
He said problems arose when Cody brought home women, some he knew
from the hospital. When he was told he had to leave, Cody Balmer
took it well and left quickly, his brother said.
He moved into an apartment his parents rented, then moved with them
to a rental house in a working-class neighborhood of Harrisburg, Dan
Balmer said.
When he appeared before a judge Monday, Cody Balmer said he was an
unemployed welder with no income or savings.
Fire caused significant damage and forced an evacuation
Cody Balmer was denied bail and held on charges including attempted
homicide, terrorism and arson in the attack, the latest case of
violence against political figures in the U.S.
He did not enter a plea. He had told police he planned to beat
Shapiro with a small sledgehammer if he encountered him after
breaking into the building, according to court documents.
Balmer appeared to have carefully planned the attack and was inside
the residence for about a minute before escaping, police said.
Authorities alleged he hopped over a nearly 7-foot-high
(2-meter-high) security fence surrounding the property, eluded
officers and forcibly entered the residence before setting it on
fire with Molotov cocktails made from beer bottles filled with
gasoline.
The fire caused significant damage and forced Shapiro, his family
and guests, including other relatives, to evacuate the building
early Sunday. The residence, built in 1968, did not have sprinklers,
and the damage could be in the millions of dollars, Harrisburg Fire
Chief Brian Enterline said.
Shapiro said he, his wife, their four children, two dogs and another
family had celebrated the Jewish holiday of Passover on Saturday
night in the room where the fire was started. They were awakened by
state troopers pounding on their doors about 2 a.m. Sunday. They
fled and firefighters extinguished the fire, officials said. No one
was injured.
Balmer had walked an hour from home to the governor's residence, and
during a police interview “admitted to harboring hatred towards
Governor Shapiro,” according to a police affidavit that did not
expand on that point.
Balmer turned himself in at state police headquarters after
confessing to his former partner and asking her to call police, the
affidavit said.
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