America is struggling to protect its VIPs, from Pennsylvania’s governor to President Trump

The arson attack targeting Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s residence is the latest in a recent spate of security failures that have left America’s VIPs in danger, raising questions about what has led to the breakdown.

The suspect in the arson, Cody Balmer, who turned himself in following the attack, gained access to the historic Pennsylvania governor’s mansion by climbing over an exterior fence and smashing windows to gain entry to the interior of the home. Questions are swirling about how Balmer remained undetected by the State Police detail that maintains an office there. The Pennsylvania State Police announced on Wednesday that it would conduct an independent review of security at the mansion that will be carried out by a “third party expert.”

The incident follows the two assassination attempts against President Donald Trump last year that followed significant security breaches, the bizarre break-in and hammer attack at former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s California residence, and significant security failures on Jan. 6.

David DePape, who attacked Pelosi's husband Paul, was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for the attack and in a subsequent state trial was handed a life term without the possibility of parole. PBS reported that when given the chance to address the court prior to his sentencing, DePape spoke at length about Sept. 11 being an "inside job," his ex-wife being replaced by a body double, and his government-provided attorneys conspiring against him.   

Kerik: "Lackadaisical sort of oversight" 

Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik, who in that role helped manage security details for state and federal officials in the city, told Just the News that declining law enforcement standards and lax procedures are contributing to the recent spate of security failures in protecting American VIPs like these.

“I think over the last 10 to 15 years, we have reduced standards. We have a lackadaisical sort of oversight of some of these agencies. We have lack of training,” Kerik told the John Solomon Reports podcast. "And, you know, I think you have a real lack of first line supervision. And in a lot of these, that's what this is all about. Where are the first line supervisors?”

He continued, “You know a protective detail for a governor is pretty simplistic in reality. You know, you're on him, you're on his residence, you're on his family. You know how something like that can happen, how somebody could get into the house, or within the perimeter, or the outer perimeter.”

Arson attack on PA governor’s residence

According to the criminal complaint released by the state police, security footage shows Balmer scaling the seven-foot fence and approaching the residence, clad in dark clothing and carrying a bag. He then approached the building and threw an “incendiary device” through the window into the mansion’s piano room, starting the first fire while the governor and his family slept elsewhere in the house.

Balmer subsequently entered the mansion’s dining room by breaking through an adjacent window with his hammer and deployed a second incendiary device. He fled the scene by breaking down the dining room door and leaving the property the same way he came, by scaling the fence, the report shows.

After Balmer was apprehended by police, he admitted “harboring hatred” towards the governor in an interview with investigators. He also said that, if he had encountered Shapiro after entering the residence, “he would have beaten him with his hammer,” the affidavit reads. After the attack on the governor’s residence, Balmer identified himself on a 911 call and said that Mr. Shapiro, who is Jewish, “needs to know that he ‘will not take part in his plans for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people,’” according to the search warrant.

No members of Shapiro’s family, guests, or staff were injured in the incident, but the fires extensively damaged the historic mansion. The review, commissioned by the state police, reportedly will include “a risk and vulnerability assessment” to determine how the suspect was able to gain access to the occupied historic Harrisburg property without being intercepted.

Donald Trump assassination attempts

The arson attack on the governor’s mansion follows two separate assassination attempts against then-candidate Donald Trump on the campaign trail, highlighting an ongoing problem with keeping even the most high-profile individuals protected from harm.

The first attempt, which occurred during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last July, nearly cost the now-president his life when a bullet fired by would-be assassin Thomas Crooks struck Trump’s ear as he stood on stage.

Just months later, a second would-be assassin, Ryan Routh, lied in wait on the perimeter of the Trump International Golf Course in Doral, Florida, with a rifle and the intent to assassinate the president. He was stopped when the Secret Service, conducting a routine sweep, discovered Routh hiding in the bushes near a fence line.

A congressional probe into the two assassination attempts identified significant leadership and security failures in both incidents that exposed long-running staffing, training, and procedural problems in the Secret Service.

The Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump concluded that the incident in Butler was “preventable” and that multiple cascading failures allowed Crooks to evade law enforcement and climb on a nearby roof, granting unobstructed sight of the rally stage. Law enforcement failed to secure that building before the rally, had an unaddressed lack of manpower to cover the venue, misunderstandings of the counter snipers’ roles, and poor communication between the Secret Service and local police.

The review also found in the second incident that the Secret Service did not deploy its full set of security capabilities ahead of Trump’s visit to the golf course, despite the site being surrounded by public roads and protected only by a chain-link fence.

Other close calls, attacks, and security incidents

There have been several other security incidents in recent years that warn of a growing problem keeping public officials and other VIPs safe, including the Secret Service bringing then-Vice President-elect Kamala Harris within 10 yards of one of the pipe bombs planted by an unknown suspect on Jan. 6, congressional staff intercepted at House office building security checkpoints with firearms, and unlocked doors at the Capitol building on Jan. 6 that allowed protestors to enter unobstructed.

In 2017, James T. Hodgkinson, who The New York Times reported was "distraught over the election of Donald Trump" approached a baseball field in Virginia, and after asking if the men playing were Republicans, opened fire on members of the Republican congressional baseball team. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., suffered extensive injuries, and was in critical condition after the assault, MedStar Washington Hospital Center said in a statement. As the bullet traveled across his body, it broke bones, tore up internal organs and caused major internal bleeding.

According to CBS News, Hodgkinson made a number of posts criticizing President Trump and expressing support for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., on his Facebook page. Hodgkinson shot four other people, including two Capitol Police officers, before being shot himself and taken into custody. He later died from his injuries.

Judges — especially those perceived as particularly conservative — have not been exempt from the heightened normalization of murder. This month, Nicholas John Roske, 29, of Simi Valley, California, pleaded guilty to attempting to kill U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. CNN reported that in an online conversation on the messaging app Discord, Roske told an individual in May that he was “gonna stop roe v wade from being overturned” and that he would “remove some people from the supreme court.” 

U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement that "This calculated attempt on the life of a sitting U.S. Supreme Court Justice was a heinous attack on the Court itself. Anyone who thinks they can use violence or intimidation to influence our courts will be met with the full force of the law and face up to life in prison.”

Assassination culture

The City Journal reported this week that nearly one-third of Americans surveyed — and around half of those identifying as left-of-center — believe that the murder of certain public figures is at least somewhat justified. Thirty-eight percent of all respondents, and 55 percent of those who identify as left-of-center, said assassinating President Trump would be at least somewhat justified; 31 percent of respondents, and 48 percent of those left-of-center, said the same about Elon Musk. 

The report also detailed an emerging “assassination culture,” found in predominantly left-leaning digital spaces, such as Bluesky and Reddit. That subculture justifies and glorifies political violence. Some of these networks’ users wield the name “Luigi” or use the Luigi video game character as coded endorsements of UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson’s accused murderer, Luigi Mangione.

Since the killing, Mangione has risen to folk hero status among some radical leftists, who consider his alleged actions acceptable — or even admirable. Taylor Lorenz, formerly a reporter for The Washington Post and The New York Times, is an admitted "fangirl" of Mangione. The New York Post reported that Taylor previously said she felt “joy” about Thompson's murder and attempted to rationalize the legions of Mangione supporters.

When asked by CNN about why women were rallying behind Mangione, Lorenz said, “You’re gonna see women especially that feel like, ‘Oh my God, here’s this man who’s a revolutionary, who’s famous, who’s handsome, who’s young, who’s smart, he’s a person that seems like this morally good man,’ which is hard to find.”