Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has called on the Justice Department to investigate the arson attack against Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
“Given the deeply troubling allegations that the suspect targeted Gov. Shapiro based in part on his religious identity, the April 13 incident warrants immediate and serious federal scrutiny,” he wrote.
The attack occurred during Passover, which Shapiro had been observing with the traditional Jewish Seder meal the night before.
“Our federal authorities must bring the full weight of our civil-rights laws to bear in examining this matter,” Schumer wrote.
“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.”
The suspect, Cody Balmer, 38, turned himself in to police and has been charged with terrorism, burglary, aggravated arson, and attempted murder.
He has been denied bail.
“While the Shapiro family slept inside, the suspect allegedly set their home ablaze, causing extensive damage and leaving lasting anguish not only for the victims, but for Americans across the country,” Schumer wrote.
The Justice Department confirmed that it received Schumer’s letter.
Balmer, according to law enforcement, opposed Shapiro’s pro-Israel stance amid the war between the Jewish state and the Hamas terrorist group.
He said he would have assaulted Shapiro with a hammer had he encountered the governor, according to officials.
“These statements—in conjunction with the timing of the attack during Passover, Gov. Shapiro’s visible embrace of his Jewish faith, and the context of rising anti-Semitism globally and across the country—raise serious concerns about antisemitic motivation,” Schumer wrote.
Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo said that Shapiro’s Jewish identity was a factor in the attack.
Bondi said that federal authorities are assisting Pennsylvania authorities in their investigation.
“It is absolutely horrific what happened to him,” she said on April 16. “We have been praying for Josh, for his family. Those photos—it was horrible. I firmly believe that they wanted to kill him.”
Bondi has not committed to a federal probe of the attack and has declined to call it an act of domestic terrorism.
Shapiro, whose family was awakened by loud knocking by a state trooper during the fire, said he is unafraid in spite of what transpired.
“If this individual was trying to deter me from doing my job as your governor, rest assured, I will find a way to work even harder than I was,” he said.
“If he was trying to terrorize our family, our friends, the Jewish community, who joined us for a Passover Seder in that room last night, hear me on this: We celebrated our faith last night, proudly and in a few hours, we will celebrate our second Seder of Passover.
“No one will deter me or my family, or any Pennsylvanian, from celebrating their faith openly and proudly.”
