Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is pressing the Department of Justice to investigate whether the arson attack on Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s residence constituted a federal hate crime, suggesting in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi that the federal government’s response has been insufficient thus far. 

But Shapiro himself is deferring to local and federal prosecutors and said Schumer’s letter was unhelpful.

According to local authorities, the attack, on the first night of Passover, was motivated by Shapiro’s support for Israel. The suspect, Cody Balmer, has been charged by local authorities with attempted homicide, terrorism and aggravated arson, but federal prosecutors have not gotten involved.

“Our federal authorities must bring the full weight of our civil-rights laws to bear in examining this matter. No person or public official should be targeted because of their faith, and no community should wonder whether such acts will be met with silence,” Schumer said in his letter. “I appreciate your strong condemnation of the attack and urge you to ensure that the federal government does everything in its power to pursue justice and uphold the fundamental values of religious freedom and public safety.”

Schumer argued, “Given the deeply troubling allegations that the suspect targeted Governor Shapiro based in part on his religious identity, the April 13 incident warrants immediate and serious federal scrutiny.”

But Shapiro himself is taking a different approach. He said at a press conference on Thursday that he would defer to the DOJ on whether to investigate the attack as a hate crime or bring charges.

“‘As to Sen. Schumer or anyone else, I don’t think it’s helpful for people on the outside who haven’t seen the evidence, who don’t know what occurred, who are applying their own viewpoints to the situation, to weigh in in that manner,” he told reporters. 

“My trust is with the prosecutor to make the decision. He’ll make the right decisions, and I will be fully supportive of whatever decision he makes,” he said, referring to the local district attorney. Shapiro said he would not weigh in on what charges should be filed against the arsonist.

Schumer said in the letter that there is significant reason to be concerned that the attack was motivated by antisemitism.

The attacker’s “statements — in conjunction with the timing of the attack during Passover, Governor Shapiro’s visible embrace of his Jewish faith, and the context of rising antisemitism globally and across the country — raise serious concerns about antisemitic motivation,” Schumer said.

The DOJ did not respond to a request for comment on whether it plans to investigate the case as a hate crime or terrorist incident or file charges.

Numerous lawmakers, including Democrats and Republicans, have similarly described the attack as motivated by antisemitism and anti-Zionism.

“While I’m relieved to know that Governor Shapiro and his family are safe, I am deeply disturbed by what seems to be an appalling act of antisemitic and political violence committed during Passover,” Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), a co-chair of the Senate antisemitism task force, told Jewish Insider. “No one should be threatened or made to feel unsafe because they are Jewish. I have worked tirelessly to root out antisemitism wherever it rears its ugly head, and I will continue to lead bipartisan efforts in Congress to fight anti-Jewish hate and violence.”

Reps. Dan Goldman (D-NY) and Chris Smith (R-NY), who co-chair the House antisemitism task force, also condemned the attack as antisemitic.

“Governor Shapiro is the Governor of Pennsylvania and has nothing to do with Israel’s foreign policy, yet he was targeted as an American Jew by a radicalized extremist who blames the Governor for Israel’s actions. That is textbook antisemitism,” they said in a statement. “As Jews across the globe celebrate Passover, a holiday commemorating the liberation of the Jewish people from bondage and oppression, this attack is a bitter reminder that persecution of Jews continues.

They said the perpetrator should “be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) connected the attack to “incendiary rhetoric, purposeful disinformation” and said that “leaders need to be conscious of their words having consequences” — presumably a reference to the antisemitic and anti-Israel campaign directed against Shapiro. But he didn’t mention antisemitism, or Israel, specifically.

Some Democrats have also seized on comments Bondi made on Wednesday about the attack.

Bondi, asked whether the attack constituted domestic terrorism and would be investigated as such, said Wednesday the attack was “absolutely horrific what happened to him … it was horrible. I firmly believe that they wanted to kill him” and pledged federal assistance. She said both she and FBI Director Kash Patel had spoken to Shapiro. But she did not directly address the issue of whether the attack constituted domestic terrorism.

Democratic Majority for Israel condemned Bondi, saying in a statement, “When antisemitic hatred motivates an arson attack against a Democratic Jewish governor and his family, it’s domestic terrorism. Yet [Bondi] won’t call it that — even though she readily labels property damage that way,” referring to attacks on Tesla dealerships, including firebombings, which the DOJ has been investigating as domestic terrorist incidents.