Violent Hate Crimes Spike Under Trump

The attack on Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and a teen who killed his parents as part of a plot to start a race war is the tip of the iceberg

Photo by Chad Stembridge on Unsplash

The attack against Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and his family in early April appears to be a hate crime. The attacker who torched the governor’s mansion, 38-year-old Cody Balmer, who has a history of posting hatred for Democrats on social media, told a 911 operator that Shapiro, who is Jewish, put his people “through too much” and called him a monster. Balmer, who is white, appears to reference parts of the racist Great Replacement conspiracy theory.

While it’s too early to tell what Blamer was specifically referencing, the hypotheses in the conspiracy theory revolve heavily around the idea that Jewish people are behind every perceived problem that ails the so-called “white race.” Essentially, everything from equal rights to the perception that white men are no longer centered, they suggest, is because of a campaign by Jewish elites to eliminate white people, either through mass migration or social equity for Black people, women, the LGBTQ community, etc.

“I wish no harm on anyone. But that man, that man, he is doing serious, serious harm,” Balmer told a 911 operator after…