What The Hell America!

Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family were evacuated early Sunday morning after an apparent arson attack on the official governor’s residence.

“Last night at about 2:00 am, 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,” Shapiro said in a statement posted on social media.

The Harrisburg Bureau of Fire responded to the fire, which “caused a significant amount of damage to a portion of the residence” before it was “successfully extinguished,” the Pennsylvania State Police said in a statement. The fire was in a different part of the house from where the governor and his family were staying.

“While the investigation is ongoing, the State Police is prepared to say at this time that this was an act of arson,” their statement read.

Shapiro was considered a leading contender to serve as former Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate in the 2024 election. He has been floated as a potential Democratic presidential candidate in the 2028 election.

Harris and his family celebrated Passover the night before the fire.

In his message, Shapiro expressed gratitude for the first responders.

“Thank God no one was injured and the fire was extinguished,” he said.

Police offered up to $10,000 for any information that leads to an arrest and conviction.

“No additional information will be released at this time. However, this is a fast-moving investigation, and details will be provided as appropriate,” the police concluded.

The attack comes as there is growing concern over political violence in the U.S., as The New York Times explained:

Recent high-profile incidents of violence directed at political figures have helped feed fear and unease among Americans, polls have shown. Before the presidential election last year, for instance, about 4 in 10 voters said they were extremely or very concerned about violent attempts to challenge the outcome. The assassination attempt against President Trump last summer took place in Butler, Pennsylvania, a little over 200 miles west of Harrisburg.

Pennsylvania’s Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis, a Democrat, was one of several state leaders who spoke out against politically motivated violence in their response to the fire.

“I won’t speculate on motivations,” he wrote on social media, “but I will say that targeting elected officials and their family members with violence is never acceptable. These sorts of acts deter good people from pursuing public service at a time when we desperately need more Americans to participate in our democracy.”