Shapiro Declines To Back Schumer’s Call For Hate Crime Probe: 'It’s Not My Job’

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) declined to support a call for federal prosecutors to open a hate crime investigation into an arson attack at his home this week, saying “it’s not my job” but more leaders do need to “condemn this kind of violence.”

“I know as a former prosecutor how important it is to follow the evidence and apply the law and do so without fear or favor. In this case, I’m the victim in the crime, I’m not the prosecutor,” he told “Good Morning America’s” George Stephanopoulos during a walkthrough of his home’s destruction.

Shapiro, standing amid the damage with his wife, got emotional while recounting his family’s celebration of the Jewish holiday Passover with community members in one of the large rooms just hours before the fire was set there.

“We were probably downstairs until probably almost midnight and then went upstairs, maybe got to bed around 1 o’clock and then this happened around an hour later,” he said.

Arson suspect Cody Balmer, who was arrested shortly after the blaze, was allegedly upset with Shapiro over his “perceived injustices to the people of Palestine,” authorities said.

Shapiro had condemned Hamas’ violent attack on Israel in October 2023 and last year called for the dismantling of a pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Pennsylvania.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Thursday responded by urging Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the arson as a hate crime. Shapiro, however, called such calls premature.

Some damage is seen after an arsonist sets fire to the Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro's residence in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on April 13.

Anadolu via Getty Images

“I’m not sure that it’s helpful for people from the outside to be weighing in with their opinions here, George. No matter who they are,” he said.

He did urge other leaders to stand up and speak out against such acts of violence, saying it “needs to be universally condemned.”

“I don’t care if it’s coming from the left, from the right. I don’t care if it’s coming from someone who you voted for or someone who you didn’t vote for. Someone on your team or someone on the other team. I think every single leader has a responsibility to speak and act with moral clarity and condemn this kind of violence,” he said.

He also pushed back on Republican Rep. Dan Meuser suggesting that the governor holds partial responsibility for what happened because of his rhetoric against President Donald Trump.

“Our hearts go out to the Shapiro family on this. But you know, they’ve got to tone it down, too. I mean, every action Josh Shapiro has taken so far against the president has either been a lawsuit or a falsehood,” Meuser said in an interview Tuesday.

“I think leaders have a responsibility to speak and act with moral clarity and that particular congressman failed yet again,” Shapiro responded.