Arson at governor's residence latest act of US political violence
An arson at the Pennsylvania governor's mansion was the latest in a string of politically motivated attacks in the United States, which also include widespread vandalism against Tesla cars and dealerships.
At around 2 am EDT on Sunday, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and his family were awakened by State Police banging on their door to evacuate them from their official residence in Harrisburg, the state capital, after a suspect had set fire to the home.
No one was injured, but the house sustained "significant damage" from the attack, according to police. Photos showed smoke billowing from a window of the residence.
Shapiro later on social media called for an end to political violence, which he said is "becoming far too common in our society".
On March 19, US Attorney General Pam Bondi called the attacks on Tesla — whose CEO, multi-billionaire Elon Musk, was appointed by US President Donald Trump to lead the federal budget-cutting Department of Government Efficiency — "nothing short of domestic terrorism".
She said that the Department of Justice "will continue investigations that impose severe consequences on those involved in the attacks, including those operating behind the scenes".
Shapiro also wrote, "I don't give a damn if it's coming from one particular side or the other, directed at one particular party or another … it is not OK and it has to stop."
The arson suspect, Cody Balmer, 38, of Harrisburg, turned himself in to police and told them that he was "harboring hatred" for the governor and had planned to beat him with a hammer if he had found him in the burning residence.
Balmer gained access by scaling a fence at the mansion, police said. Security footage showed the suspect breaking a window in the home's piano room and throwing a Molotov cocktail into the house. CBS News reported. Photos posted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania show heavy damage to the southern area of the mansion.
Balmer also had made social media posts critical of the president and of former president Joe Biden.
Online records showed that Balmer's house in the city was put in foreclosure and was sold in September for $60,000, USA Today reported.
In February and March, there were more than 50 acts of vandalism against Tesla vehicles. Five vehicles were firebombed and hit by gunfire at a Tesla dealership in Las Vegas.
On Jan 1, Matthew Livelsberger, a decorated former US Army Green Beret, fatally shot himself inside a Tesla Cybertruck he had parked outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas immediately before a time bomb inside the vehicle exploded, causing minor injuries to seven people.
In one of his writings about domestic politics and international issues, Livelsberger complained of the US being "terminally ill and headed toward collapse".
Trump himself narrowly survived an assassination attempt on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania. The shooter, Thomas Crooks, 20, who used an AR-15 style rifle, was killed by a Secret Service sniper. One of the rounds wounded Trump in the ear.
The acts of political violence and growing polarization among Americans have taken place against an economic backdrop of high inflation and federal debt. Trump has instituted sweeping tariffs, federal layoffs and cutbacks by DOGE, along with foreign aid cuts to the US Agency for International Development.
The stock and bond markets also have experienced high volatility in the past week, with wild swings in shares resulting from tariff announcements and pauses.
A Wall Street Journal poll, conducted from March 27 to April 1, shows partisan divisions have sharpened over tariffs and foreign aid cuts: 77 percent of Republicans held a positive view of the tariffs, saying they would create jobs, while 93 percent of Democrats expressed concern that they would raise prices.
On foreign aid, 92 percent of Republicans supported broad cuts such as Trump has proposed, while 85 percent of Democrats opposed them.
