Cody Balmer's alleged ‘anti-Biden’, rifle posts surface after arrest in Josh Shapiro home arson case

Cody Balmer, 38, was identified as the suspect who lit a fire at Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro's Harrisburg residence early on Sunday

Cody Balmer, 38, was identified as the suspect who lit a fire at Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro's Harrisburg residence early on Sunday. He is facing charges of attempted murder, terrorism, aggravated arson, and aggravated assault against an enumerated person. Now, Balmer's alleged ‘anti-Biden’ posts and photos with rifles have surfaced on social media. Hindustan Times cannot verify the authenticity of these screenshots shared on X, platform formerly known as Twitter.

Cody Balmer was identified as the suspect who lit a fire at Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro's Harrisburg residence (X and AP)

"Cody Balmer is in custody. We are preparing a criminal complaint to charge him," district attorney Fran Chardo noted at a press conference on Sunday. Authorities have not released Balmer's photo yet.

Officials Christopher Paris and George Bivens said that Cody Balmer had a ‘well layout plan’. He entered the property by jumping over a fence and evaded troopers at Shapiro's residence. They further added that the 38-year-old had ‘homemade incendiary devices’ on him.

Now, social media users are sharing screenshots from Balmer's alleged Facebook profile. Some of them were anti-Biden images, indicating that the arson suspect disagreed with the former president's policies.

This comes after Gov Josh Shapiro tweeted early in the day that an arsonist attacked his Harrisburg home at around 2 AM. The 51-year-old and his family were evacuated. No injuries or fatalities were reported.

“Last night at about 2AM, my family and I woke up to bangs on the door from the Pennsylvania State Police after an arsonist set fire to the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg. The Harrisburg Bureau of Fire was on the scene and while they worked to put out the fire, we were evacuated from the Residence safely by Pennsylvania State Police and assisted by Capitol Police. Thank God no one was injured and the fire was extinguished,” the Democratic governor posted on X.

At the presser later in the day, Shapiro slammed the violence. "This kind of violence is becoming far too common in our society, and I don't give a damn if it's coming from one particular side or the other... it is not okay, and it has to stop," he said.