Pennsylvania lawmaker uses flamethrower on Shapiro's 'fantasy budget' after arson attack
(WHTM) — Pennsylvania State Senator Dawn Keefer (R-Cumberland/York) is drawing criticism after using a flamethrower to burn a sign with Governor Josh Shapiro's name on it, a month after an arsonist set fire to Shapiro's home.
Keefer posted a one-minute video to social media on May 8 saying Shapiro's $51 billion 'fantasy budget' would lead to a 52% income tax increase. 'But just like the farmers in the Whiskey Rebellion,' Keefer wrote, 'we say ENOUGH.'
The Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 was an 'uprising of farmers and distillers in western Pennsylvania in protest of a whiskey tax enacted by the federal government,' according to HISTORY.
Protests led to violence on a government official who was tarred and feathered, the fatal attack on a tax collector's Allegheny County home known as the Attack on Bower Hill, and the eventual discharging of a militia by George Washington to restore order in the region.
'Over 230 years ago, Pennsylvanians held the line against taxation,' Keefer says in her video, before using a flamethrower to burn a sign that says 'Shapiro's $51.5B Fantasy Budget.'
Commenters on Keefer's video noted her use of a flamethrower on a sign with Shapiro's name came less than a month after State Police say a man threw Molotov Cocktails inside the Governor's Residence, burning the dining room.
'Your theatrics, torching a budget, only weeks after someone tried to assassinate the Governor is despicable,' said a commenter under Keefer's video.
'You don't take a flamethrower to a Governor's budget when the Governor's home was just torched,' said State Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa (D-43). 'It was insensitive, uncalled for, and really has gotten to a point where disappointed this type of rhetoric continues to move forward. We have to tone this all down.'
Keefer believes the bigger concern should be the state burning through taxpayer cash, saying last year there was 'out of control' spending in last year's budget. She declined to speak specifically to the flamethrower video.
The Governor and Senate Republican leaders declined to comment on the video, best described as incendiary.
The state budget is due in less than seven weeks on June 30.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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