Pa. GOP lawmakers still want answers from state police on how the arson attack on Gov. Josh Shapiro happened

HARRISBURG — Top state House Republicans are pushing ahead in search of answers on how a man was able to set the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion ablaze last month, after Gov. Josh Shapiro‘s administration declined to release any details from an independent review of the incident and security weaknesses.

Two top House Republicans introduced a resolution this week requesting that a House committee investigate the April 13 attack on the governor’s residence that would give lawmakers subpoena power to uncover any security vulnerabilities and a clear timeline of what occurred the night of the attack, when a man entered the historic home with homemade Molotov cocktails and set multiple fires while the governor and his family slept inside.

» READ MORE: The arson at Gov. Josh Shapiro’s mansion erupted within minutes. The impact lingers.

The resolution is unlikely to be considered in the House Government Oversight Committee, as Democrats have a narrow majority in the chamber, control what proposals get a vote, and are likely to follow the administration’s lead.

The resolution is the latest attempt by House Republicans to extract answers about what went wrong at the governor’s mansion to allow the attack to occur, as well as any broader security deficiencies that need to be addressed to keep the governor, his family and government-owned properties safe. Top administration officials insist that divulging any information about the independent review of the Pennsylvania State Police security would put Shapiro at risk.

“This is something that is of great import to the taxpayers, the residents of the commonwealth, and their representatives in the House and I believe in the Senate as well,” said House Minority Leader Jesse Topper (R., Bedford) before introducing the resolution. “We’re simply trying to find out the facts, what happened, what went wrong, what we can do to ensure that it doesn’t happen in the future.”

The Pennsylvania State Police and governor’s office contracted a former state police commissioner to conduct an independent review of what went wrong to allow a man, now identified by police as Cody Balmer, 38, to be able to jump a security fence, run across the property, start several fires, break into the residence, and flee on foot — all while Shapiro and his family were home. That report was completed late last month, but has not been released publicly.

The security assessment reviewed personnel deployments, training, surveillance, fire suppression, and emergency plans and drills at the governor’s mansion. The group also interviewed personnel on duty the night of the attack, as well as supervisors at the state police’s Executive Services Offices, according to a news release from security consultant Jeffrey B. Miller. Findings from the report were released to state police and Shapiro’s office.

The arson attack, which garnered national attention as a brazen display of political violence, left the Harrisburg mansion requiring more than $500,000 in repairs that were not covered by insurance. Pennsylvania’s former governors banded together earlier this month to fundraise for the home’s restoration.

Exact details of current security at the residence — as well as in-depth knowledge of Shapiro’s 24/7 protective detail — are kept under wraps by state police to protect from security threats.

While it’s still unclear who was on duty the night of the arson, two former governors told The Inquirer last month that during their time living at the mansion, there were at least two state troopers stationed at the residence at all times who watched security cameras from a control room.

Shapiro has said that state police have learned from the incident, and that he continues to feel safe in their protection. He began staying overnight at the residence within weeks of the fire, and restoration of the damaged parts of the 29,000-square-foot home are still underway.

“I’m not going to live in fear,” Shapiro told reporters last month outside the residence, following its first public event back at the historic home.

Topper, among other House GOP members, previously formally requested that Shapiro’s administration release an unredacted copy of the report to lawmakers to increase transparency around what mistakes were made, and whether state police need more resources to be allocated to them from the General Assembly.

“Remember what the governor’s words were the next morning when he went to the podium outside the mansion, ‘An attack on the governor’s mansion is an attack on all of us,’” said Rep. Craig Williams (R., Delaware), who is cosponsoring the effort.

State Police Commissioner Col. Christopher Paris, in a letter to the General Assembly on May 6, said the recommendations from the independent review and the agency’s own internal review resulted in a number of changes to the residence’s security protocols. Among those changes include the future addition of a new anti-climb fence around the perimeter of the residence, a new uniformed police force on duty at the residence, and more frequent security assessments of the property, among other changes.

“I want to assure you that PSP takes full responsibility for the security failures that allowed this attack to take place — and we are committed to ensuring a security breach such as this one can never happen again,” Paris wrote in his letter to lawmakers.

However, Paris’ correspondence has not been enough for House Republican leaders, who said on Tuesday that they still have many unanswered questions about how the attack could take place, which threatened the lives of the governor and his family and resulted in serious damage to the governor’s residence.

“We need a little more transparency,” Williams told reporters Tuesday. “There should be nothing to hide. We’re just simply asking questions.”