Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to open an investigation into whether the arson attack on Gov. Josh Shapiro’s (D-PA) residence constitutes a federal hate crime after the suspect apparently told officials he targeted Shapiro over his perceived stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict.
“Given the deeply troubling allegations that the suspect targeted Governor Shapiro based in part on his religious identity, the April 13 incident warrants immediate and serious federal scrutiny,” Schumer wrote in a letter to Bondi on Thursday.
Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the country, pointed to recent revelations in a police search warrant made public on Wednesday as evidence that the attack should be investigated as a possible antisemitic hate crime. The New York senator, who recently wrote a book about the resurgence of antisemitism in the United States, also mentioned that Shapiro’s family hosted a Passover celebration hours before the attack.
Cody Balmer, 38, allegedly intended to assault Shapiro with a sledgehammer if given the chance. In a 911 call placed shortly after the governor’s residence was set ablaze, Balmer told the dispatcher he refused to “participate in [Shapiro’s] plans for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people,” according to a police affidavit reviewed by PennLive.
“Balmer admitted to harboring hatred towards Governor Shapiro,” another police affidavit said. Balmer allegedly smashed the windows of the governor’s residence and tossed Molotov cocktails inside. The fire caused extensive interior damage to the 29,000-square-foot home in Harrisburg used by governors since 1968, but police were able to evacuate Shapiro and his family before anyone was injured.
Bondi condemned the attack and told reporters Wednesday she wants the person responsible to end up “behind bars as long as possible.” However, she refrained from describing the incident as “domestic terrorism,” a term the Trump administration has used to classify assaults against conservatives, including the high-profile vandalism of Tesla properties and vehicles.
President Donald Trump said on Monday that the Pennsylvania attacker was “probably just a whack job.”
The suspect has since been charged with attempted homicide, terrorism, and aggravated arson, but Schumer believes the charges should go a step further.
“These statements — in conjunction with the timing of the attack during Passover, Governor Shapiro’s visible embrace of his Jewish faith, and the context of rising antisemitism globally and across the country — raise serious concerns about antisemitic motivation,” Schumer wrote.
“Our federal authorities must bring the full weight of our civil-rights laws to bear in examining this matter. No person or public official should be targeted because of their faith, and no community should wonder whether such acts will be met with silence,” he added.
ARSON SUSPECT TARGETED JOSH SHAPIRO OVER GOVERNOR’S VIEWS ON ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR: WARRANT
Shapiro, a Democratic rising star who nearly became then-Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate in the 2024 presidential election, released a statement following the arson attack, referencing his Jewish faith.
“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,” Shapiro said. “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.”
Letter to DOJ Re Shapiro Hate Crime (4.17.25) by web-producers