Political violence on the uptick?

A man who authorities said scaled an iron security fence in the middle of the night, eluded police and broke into the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion where he set a fire had planned to beat Gov. Josh Shapiro with a hammer if he found him.

  AP

I don't know. Could the jokes Trump, his family, and his minions made about Paul Pelosi have had any impact on this madman?

The fire left significant damage and forced Shapiro, his family and guests to evacuate the building early Sunday.

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[Police] identified the man in custody as [Cody] Balmer, 38, of Harrisburg.

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Calls to people believed to be relatives went unanswered or unreturned Sunday. One recent listed residence in Harrisburg was condemned in 2022. One recent listed residence in Harrisburg was condemned in 2022.

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Balmer has faced criminal charges over the past decade including simple assault, theft and forgery, according to online criminal court records.

The man obviously had not had a good life.

Authorities said the suspect hopped over a nearly 7-foot-high (2.1-meter-high) iron security fence surrounding the property, eluded officers who became aware of the breach and forcibly entered the residence before setting it on fire. He used beer bottles filled with gasoline to make the Molotov cocktails.

He walked for an hour, carried Molotov cocktails and scaled a 7' fence with them? ("Hop" wasn't the right word there.) Good lord.

Balmer appeared to have carefully planned the attack. He was inside the residence for about a minute before he escaped, Bivens said.

Bivens said Balmer was later arrested in the area.

Prosecutors say video footage shows the suspect "surveilling the residence" before he scaled a fence and approached the piano room on the south side of the governor's home. The suspect could be seen smashing in a window with a hammer and throwing a Molotov cocktail into the room, immediately sparking flames, according to an arrest affidavit.

Wearing a snap-on jacket, black boots and carrying a bag, the suspect then smashed in a nearby window and entered the mansion, the affidavit says. Once inside, he threw two additional Molotov cocktails in a dining area before fleeing the residence, scaling the fence and running away, records say.

  phillyburbs.com

Three Molotov cocktails!  That must have been tricky getting them over the fence.

Balmer himself approached a trooper outside Pennsylvania State Police headquarters and said he wished to turn himself in for the attack at the governor's mansion.

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Balmer described himself as a certified master mechanic offering convenient mobile service and roadside service by appointment, on Facebook; he posted a 2019 photo of his certificate from the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence.

At least several earlier posts on the page appear to mock former President Joe Biden including a 2021 meme that says "Joe Biden owes me 2 grand," and "RIP Joe Biden... Whoops that's in may, #Notmypresidenteither."

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Among his 2022 posts are memes that read, “Hey Friend I know the world is scary right now, but it's gonna get way worse;" "And knowing is half the battle. The other half is extreme violence."

As always, initial reports are somewhat conflicting.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, Balmer's ex-paramour called police to turn him in after he asked her to. According to the affidavit, he met with state police at their headquarters on Elmerton Avenue, where he admitted to being responsible.

  WGAL

Nothing important in the conflicting reports there. Reports so far say they don't have a motive. MAGA, violent, lives in Pennsylvania. I'm guessing that's motive enough.

Pennsylvania may have a violence virus.

In Pennsylvania, a man who resides in the same town where a would-be assassin fired gunshots at Trump was charged with making threats on YouTube to murder the president and other officials. Shawn Monper, 32, was charged with four counts of influencing, impeding or retaliating against a federal official after he posted comments under several YouTube videos threatening to kill or injure Trump and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, the Justice Department said Friday.

  USA Today

According to a complaint, on April 8, the FBI received a tip that a YouTube account named “Mr Satan” had posted several threats on the app between January 15 and April 5. Monper allegedly bought a gun shortly after Trump’s inauguration and in February, made comments about buying multiple guns since the start of his term.

In March, Monper stated, “Eventually I’m going to do a mass shooting” and added that he’s been “buying 1 gun a month since the election, body armor, and ammo,” according to the DOJ.

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“Nah, we just need to start killing people, Trump, Elon, all the heads of agencies Trump appointed, and anyone who stands in the way. Remember, we are the majority, MAGA is a minority of the country, and by the time it’s time to make the move, they will be weakened, many will be crushed by these policies, and they will want revenge too. American Revolution 2.0”

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“If I see an armed ICE agent, I will consider it a domestic terrorist, and an active shooter and open fire on them.”

  WKBN

Why do so many of these nutjobs post their intentions on the internet? Perhaps the answer is in the question.

And then there's this maniac...

A Wisconsin teen killed his parents to "obtain the financial means and autonomy necessary" to assassinate President Donald Trump, authorities allege in a recently released federal affidavit.

The FBI affidavit sheds new light on the case against Nikita Casap, 17, accused of killing his mother, Tatiana, 35, and stepfather Donald Mayer, 51, whose bodies were found in the family's Waukesha home Feb. 28.

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Authorities believe the couple was fatally shot more than two weeks before the gruesome discovery.

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The newly released federal affadavit says there is probable cause to believe that crimes committed also include a presidential assassination attempt, conspiracy and use of weapons of mass destruction.

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The sheriff's office obtained a search warrant for Casap's phone and found information related to "The Order of Nine Angels," an extremist neo-Nazi group. They also found text messages in Russian and a three-page document discussing assassination, bomb-making and terrorist attacks.

Casap had told a classmate he planned to kill his parents, according to the affidavit. Casap also told the classmate he was in contact with someone in Russia who was part of a plot to kill Trump and overthrow the U.S. government.

  USA Today

What would be the point of that? Trump is doing it himself.

A three-page document the affidavit says was found on the phone, apparently written by Casap.

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The document accused Jewish people of promoting white genocide and degeneracy.

"Jewish occupied governments must fall," the document said, adding that the white race "cannot survive unless America collapses." It also contained images of Adolf Hitler with the text "Hail Hitler Hail the white race hail victory."

Trump has a big hand in this Hitler worship shit. Kind of ironic it would boomerang on him.

He was in touch with other parties about his plan to kill the President and overthrow the government of the United States. And he paid for, at least in part, a drone and explosives to be used as a weapon of mass destruction to commit an attack.

Okay, but I think we should leave "weapon of mass destruction" to war weaponry. Explosives, in general, are not that, and using the term for instances such as this dampens the shock and menace it should engender. But that's just me.

America is toxic.