Cody Balmer is escorted from court after his preliminary arraignment on April 14 in Harrisburg. Read more Mingson Lau / AP

by Jesse Bunch Published Oct. 14, 2025, 9:34 a.m. ET

HARRISBURG — Cody Balmer, the man accused of setting the governor’s mansion ablaze in an attempt on Gov. Josh Shapiro ’s life this spring, pleaded guilty to attempted murder and related crimes on Tuesday morning and was sentenced to 25 to 50 in prison.

Balmer, 38, admitted his guilt in the overnight attack on Shapiro’s official residence, which took place just hours after the governor and his family had celebrated Passover there. Police said Balmer walked for more than an hour from his Harrisburg home to the downtown estate around 2 a.m., scaled a fence and lit several fires using incendiary devices b

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