Shapiro avoids ‘antisemitism’ label on arson attack in ‘Good Morning America’ interview
In an interview with ABC News, the Pennsylvania governor pivoted away from questions about the antisemitic motivations of the perpetrator
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Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro speaks during a press conference outside of the Governor's Mansion after an arsonist sets fire to the Governor's Residence in a targeted attack in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States on April 13, 2025.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is holding firm in his choice not to label the arson attack that targeted the governor’s mansion on Passover as antisemitic or a hate crime, saying in a Friday interview on ABC News’ “Good Morning America” that he will leave that question to the prosecutors.
“I think that’s a question for the prosecutors to determine. They’re going to determine motive,” Shapiro said. “I recognize when you’re in these positions of power, there are people out there that want to do you harm, but I try not to be captive to the fear, and I try not to worry or think about why people want to do that harm.”
ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos pressed Shapiro on the question, noting that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called on the Department of Justice to investigate the attack as a hate crime. Shapiro stood by his statement made on Thursday that Schumer’s letter was not “helpful.”
Stephanopoulos followed up with an opportunity for Shapiro to address antisemitism by connecting the attack on the governor’s mansion to the 2018 Tree of Life shooting.
Shapiro’s job, Stephanopoulos argued, “is to combat the kind of conditions we’re seeing to create the opportunity for situations like this. Pennsylvania is no stranger to this,” he said. “We saw the attack in the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018. How do you combat this kind of hate?”
Shapiro pivoted away from the comparison. “By speaking and acting with moral clarity,” Shapiro responded.
Rather than mentioning antisemitism in his response, Shapiro instead spoke about political violence. He talked about the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump in Butler, Pa., last summer and mentioned the arrest of Luigi Mangione, the man charged with murdering the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, in Altoona, Pa.
“I think it’s also important when you’re not dealing with a traumatic event, in Butler, in Altoona or here in Harrisburg, to be leading every day in a way that brings people together and doesn’t just continually divide us,” said Shapiro.