What happened
A 38-year-old man Tuesday pleaded guilty to charges including terrorism, arson and attempted murder for breaking into the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion in April and trying to burn it down as Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) and his family slept upstairs.
Under a plea deal, Cody Balmer was sentenced to 25 to 50 years in prison, “far less than he could have faced if the case went to trial,” The Associated Press said.
Who said what
Balmer broke into the official residence carrying a hammer after the Shapiros hosted a Seder on the first night of Passover. Shapiro, who supported the plea deal, told reporters Tuesday that he and his wife “have struggled over the last six months to try and make sense of all of this” and “explain it to our four children” and other family members staying over that night. The attack still “brings with it a real sense of vulnerability our family feels every single day,” he said.
Balmer is “taking full responsibility” for his actions and paying a “hefty price for a man who’s 38 years old,” his attorney Bryan Walk said in court Tuesday. Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo said Balmer had indicated the attack was intended as an “offset” to the deaths in Gaza.
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What next?
Prosecutors said Balmer would be eligible for parole when he is 63. Nobody was hurt in the attack but Balmer’s Molotov cocktails “caused millions of dollars in damage” to the governor’s mansion, the AP said, and “work to fix the damage and to bolster its security features continues.”
