Which is more astounding: That a right-wing yahoo got into and set ablaze the home of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and his wife and four kids, or that an orange madman – who assails both those who vandalize cars and those who oppose killing brown children as “domestic terrorists” – stayed silent on the attempted murder of a Jewish governor’s family while vowing to “look to Christ’s love” (even) in life’s most difficult moments,” presumably like when your house is burning down. Tough call.
In a Sunday press conference, officials said Gov. Shapiro and his family were evacuated early that morning after an apparent arson attack that caused “a significant amount of damage” to the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg. Shapiro posted that he and his family were asleep at about 2 a.m. when they were awakened by state police and fire officials banging on their door. The fire struck the part of the residence where, hours before, the family had held a Seder dinner to mark the first night of Passover; Shapiro posted a photo wishing, “Happy Passover From the Shapiro family’s Seder table to yours.” The family was asleep in a different area, and they all escaped uninjured.
By Sunday night, officials announced they’d captured a suspect, Cody Balmer, 38; they said a “methodical” Balmer “targeted” the home, evaded troopers on duty, jumped a fence and got inside long enough to toss a “home-made incendiary device.” According to news reports and a social media trail, Balmer has a criminal record; what is evidently his Facebook page reveals hatred for women and Biden – “Biden supporters shouldn’t exist” – a fondness for guns, and support for Trump because gas was cheaper under his reign. While the investigation is ongoing, officials say they expect charges against Balmer to include attempted murder, terrorism, aggravated arson and aggravated assault on an enumerated person.
The attack comes amidst rising political violence that’s regularly denounced by politicians including Shapiro – “It is not okay, and it has to stop” – and yet both tacitly and brazenly fomented, since the days of “good people on both sides,” by a complicit Mobster-In-Chief; says one sage, “Trump’s fingerprints are all over this.” Critics note that Trump and Attorney General Blondie Bondi have been quick to condemn any small actions of good will they disagree with – from protesting or vandalizing Teslas to speaking up on college campuses against starving or killing children in Gaza – as “anti-Semitism,” “hate crimes” and/or “domestic terrorism,” all while amassing troops at the border and disappearing “criminal aliens” for seeking safety.
So it was that, even past midnight Sunday, the witch-hunted, hoax-targeted, anti-anti-Semitic guy who wants to “protect” America’s women and white people and riches from “domestic terrorism” – while dismissing attacks on Gretchen Whitmer, Paul Pelosi, the seat of democracy itself – had still said not a word about some random bigot trying to burn a Jewish elected official and his family out of their home. Note to mob boss: The “terrorists” and “anti-Semites” are not the righteous students protesting the deaths of innocent Gazan women and children; they are the arsonists trying to burn families as they sleep on the first night of Passover, which celebrates liberation from oppression. Terror, here, resides in the jaundiced eye of the beholder.
Instead, in the kick-off for his new “Faith Office,” Trump issued a Palm Sunday message, renewing his promise to “defend the Christian faith” against the “appalling” likes of (devout Catholic) Biden, who planned 2024’s Transgender Day of Visibility on Easter as part of his “years-long assault on the Christian faith.” Not so for our new Man of the Gospel who doesn’t know any of it. “We will never waver in safeguarding the right to religious liberty,” he wrote, calling on “Christ’s love, humility, and obedience.” His White House has also promised “an extraordinary Holy Week” to honor Easter with “the observance it deserves.” No details yet, but their plans reportedly include deporting several more college students for setting fire to Gov. Shapiro’s home.
Balmer photo on Facebook pageFacebook
This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Abby Zimet.