The suspected arsonist arrested over the firebombing attack on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home shared disturbing photos on social media — including pics of himself pointing a gun at the camera, and appearing to breathe fire, as well as a photo of an embroidered flaming Molotov cocktail.
Cody Balmer, 38, was arrested Sunday evening and faces charges of attempted murder, terrorism, aggravated arson and aggravated assault for the 2 a.m. blaze at the Democrat’s residence, the Dauphin County district attorney has announced.
No motive has yet been given for the arson attack on the governor’s Harrisburg home, but a Facebook account believed to be run by Balmer, according to sources, includes a number of radical posts, images of guns and at least one apparent call for violence.
He told police he’d planned to beat Shapiro with a hammer if he encountered him, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The accused arsonist and dad reshared a picture of an embroidery hoop featuring a hand-stitched flaming Molotov cocktail and the words “Be the light you want to see in the world,” in a June 2022 post.
Meanwhile, the photo of the former mechanic pointing the barrel of a gun straight at the camera, posted in 2011, sits in an album flanked by images of children opening Christmas gifts and playing on a slide. Another photo shows the alleged firebug holding up a welding torch, shooting out flames under a car.
Balmer also shared multiple left-wing anti-capitalist posts on his Facebook, and his home appears to have been foreclosed last year, according to court documents.
Balmer’s Harrisburg property was subject to a foreclosure, according to a writ of execution issued by the Court of Common Pleas of Dauphin County.
The sale was conducted at the request of Lakeview Loan Servicing, LLC, and included legal notifications for any interested parties about the distribution of proceeds, according to the document.
The sale was set to go ahead unless otherwise delayed or canceled by the sheriff’s office, according to the document.
Balmer appears to have expressed far-left beliefs on social media in recent years and attacked both President Trump and former President Joe Biden.
“Biden supporters shouldn’t exist,” he wrote in a Facebook post in January 2021. “Where were you his first run? Well aware of the trash he is. As for the second, still knew what scum he is. Now why did y’all forget? What, because he did?”
“RIP Joe Biden… whoops that’s in May. #notmypresident,” he wrote in another post, while another read, “Knowing is half the battle.. the other half is extreme violence.”
Balmer also shared a Facebook post supporting mask mandates during the COVID pandemic as well as rants slamming “toxic femininity,” and other posts complaining about gas prices and supporting Kanye West’s presidential run.
“Every time I stop to get gas, I personally feel that we should have taken our chances with Kanye,” the post read.
The suspect is a dad of at least five — four sons and a daughter, according to a 2020 Facebook post shared by a former employer.
