The man charged with setting fire to the governor’s residence over the weekend harbored resentment against Shapiro, who is Jewish, because he believed the governor’s stance on Israel was contributing to the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza, according to a police search warrant released Wednesday. In his letter, Schumer urged the DOJ and FBI to investigate whether the arson attack constituted a federal hate crime, saying that the authorities must “bring the full weight of our civil rights laws to bear” in examining the circumstances of the crime. The Democratic leader cited Balmer’s comments documented in the police search warrant saying he “will not take part in [Shapiro’s] plans for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people” and “our people have been put through too much by that monster.”

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) is calling on Attorney General Pam Bondi and the FBI to investigate whether the recent arson attack on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home is an antisemitic hate crime under federal law. In an April 17 letter to Bondi, Schumer cites what he calls the “deeply troubling allegations that the suspect targeted Gov. Shapiro based in part on his religious identity” in requesting “immediate and serious federal scrutiny.” He wrote that the suspect allegedly set their home on fire, causing extensive damage while Shapiro’s family slept inside.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to open an investigation into whether the arson attack on Gov. Josh Shapiro’s (D-PA) residence constitutes a federal hate crime after the suspect apparently told officials he targeted Shapiro over his perceived stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict. “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,” Schumer wrote in a letter to Bondi on Thursday. Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the country, pointed to recent revelations in a police search warrant made public on Wednesday as evidence that the attack should be investigated as a possible antisemitic hate crime. The New York senator, who recently wrote a book about the resurgence of antisemitism in the United States, also mentioned that Shapiro’s family hosted a Passover celebration hours before the attack.