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 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
23 minutes ago
- The Hill
Vance on LA unrest: Newsom should ‘look in mirror' and stop blaming Trump
Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday tore into California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) for suggesting the unrest in Los Angeles is a consequence of federal involvement in state and local law enforcement efforts. 'Gavin Newsom says he didn't have a problem until Trump got involved,' Vance wrote in a post on X, attaching two photos that he said were taken before Trump ordered the National Guard to protect border patrol agents in California. One depicted rioters appearing to attack a 'border patrol' van, and another depicted a car set ablaze. The Hill was not able to verify the authenticity of the photos. 'Does this look like 'no problem'?' Vance asked. Vance suggested Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass 'fomented and encouraged the riots,' with the goal of promoting mass migration into the U.S., adding, 'It is their reason for being.' 'If you want to know why illegal aliens flocked to your state, stop accusing Donald Trump. Look in the mirror,' Vance said. 'If you want to know why border patrol fear for their lives over enforcing the law, look in the mirror.' Vance pointed to California's Medicaid expansion last year to low-income undocumented immigrants as an example of a policy that has 'encouraged mass migration into California.' Newsom has since proposed ending new Medicaid enrollment for undocumented adults, but his proposal faces resistance from the state legislature. 'Your policies that protected those migrants from common sense law enforcement. Your policies that offered massive welfare benefits to reward illegal immigrants. Your policies that allowed those illegal migrants (and their sympathizers) to assault our law enforcement. Your policies that allowed Los Angeles to turn into a war zone,' Vance continued. 'You sure as hell had a problem before President Trump came along. The problem is YOU,' Vance added. Vance's post is the latest in a back-and-forth between the administration and Newsom, who has resisted Trump's extraordinary steps to deploy 4,000 National Guard troops to the area and mobilize 700 active-duty marines. Newsom has insisted that the situation was under control before the Trump administration escalated tensions by making a provocative show of force. He accused Trump of 'intentionally causing chaos, terrorizing communities and endangering the principles of our great democracy.' After Trump suggested his border czar arrest Newsom, the California governor responded by saying, 'The President of the United States just called for the arrest of a sitting Governor. This is a day I hoped I would never see in America.' 'I don't care if you're a Democrat or a Republican this is a line we cannot cross as a nation — this is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism,' Newsom added Monday afternoon. Vance then replied to Newsom, saying, 'Do your job. That's all we're asking.' 'Do YOUR job. We didn't have a problem until Trump got involved. Rescind the order. Return control to California,' Newsom responded, prompting Vance's latest response.
Fox News
28 minutes ago
- Fox News
NY lawmaker lambastes failed commemoration of Oct 7 attack, as Dem leadership accused of 'antisemitism'
The New York assemblyman behind an effort to formally commemorate the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack in Israel lambasted leadership for tanking what was supposed to be a "poignant" bill remembering the tragedy. Assemblyman Lester Chang, R-Brooklyn – one of the few GOP members from New York City in the 103-47 Democratic-majority chamber – said he had been working on a resolution for New York state to officially remember the terror attack since hostage negotiations began a year ago. "I'm a Navy veteran of 24 years and I did a tour in Afghanistan. So I understand what war is all about," said Chang. "I've seen atrocities out there." Once American figures like then-candidate Donald Trump began helping hostage negotiations, Chang said he directed his staff to craft a message – which he said took more than a month of back-and-forth to make sure it was "balanced" and did not have a partisan streak. "We submitted it in January, as a resolution, and it was rejected… because [leadership] said it was 'controversial,'" Chang said. "We were astounded but not surprised. So we converted it to a bill," he said, adding that, in the end, a bill would be better because a resolution only commemorates an event for that year, while a bill would codify the remembrance for eternity. With a handful of Democratic co-sponsors, Chang and colleagues believed they had the right balance to attempt to put it up for a vote, but as the New York Post reported, it was reportedly ultimately blocked by House Speaker Carl Heastie, D-Bronx, and other top Democrats. Chang said the bill, destined for the smaller governmental operations committee, was redirected to the larger Ways and Means committee, and that four members were "switched out." The top Republican on that panel, Assemblyman Ed Ra, told the New York Post that remembering Oct. 7 and/or combating antisemitism should never be "political." Republican Assemblyman Ari Brown, who, like Ra, represents Long Island, accused Albany Democrats of "veiled antisemitism," telling the Post the legislature is "rotten" with it. The assembly also tanked a resolution from Brown that complimented Chang's bill. Compounding that was, as Chang described, no GOP bills have been successfully put through the process at all this session. "Having me as a Republican [sponsor] – that would [procedurally] choke them – not because of me, the person, but as a member of that party." Chang said he would just as soon "give this bill to a Democrat" to sponsor if it meant commemorating the Oct. 7 attack. He added that, as a person of Chinese ancestry who represents largely Asian and Italian Bensonhurst, he has no religious horse in the race. "That should make it more poignant as a non-Jewish person pushing this bill in a mostly Christian and Buddhist district," he said. At least seven Democrats did come out in support of the Oct. 7 remembrance legislation, all of whom hail from New York City. Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt, R-Niagara Falls, echoed Chang's concerns in comments to Fox News Digital. "Many New Yorkers had loved ones injured or worse in the terror attacks in Israel on Oct. 7," Ortt said. "The least we can do is commemorate this tragic day." "Instead of taking commonsense action, Albany Democrats would rather play politics, and have time and again refused to defend our Jewish brothers and sisters." Fox News Digital reached out to Heastie for comment and response to the allegations but did not hear back.
Politico
36 minutes ago
- Politico
House Republicans warn Thune over megabill ‘budget gimmicks'
Thirty-eight House Republicans are warning Senate leaders against using 'budget gimmicks' as they revise President Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill,' adding a new red line as GOP lawmakers clash over the scope of new tax cuts. The Republicans, led by House Budget Vice Chair Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.), told Senate Majority Leader John Thune in a letter Tuesday that 'that any additional tax cuts' in the party's megabill 'must be matched dollar for-dollar by real, enforceable spending reductions.' House lawmakers who signed the letter include Republican Conference Vice Chair Blake Moore of Utah, House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington of Texas and House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris of Maryland. It's the latest power play orchestrated by Smucker, who in May successfully mobilized 32 colleagues to compel House leadership to commit to finding additional spending cuts to meet overarching deficit reduction targets — if Republicans also enact additional tax cuts in their larger domestic policy package. Smucker's new letter, obtained first by POLITICO, is now seeking to squeeze the other chamber as Thune and his top lieutenants are scrambling to strike a balance between making changes to the House-passed product that senators can support without losing the necessary votes across the Capitol. 'We recognize the Senate will have its own say to make changes to the bill, and we welcome amendments that increase verifiable savings and make the overall package even more sustainable,' the House Republicans wrote in their letter, sent Tuesday to Thune. 'Additional spending reduction strengthens the bill and the nation alike. What cannot change is the architecture established by the House framework.' Specifically, Smucker and his allies want Thune to adhere to the same structure of the House bill, while also disavowing accounting tactics like 'timing shifts' to artificially reduce the cost of the bill and instead find 'genuine savings.' 'Pairing tax relief with spending restraint preserves investor confidence, reins in interest costs, and maximizes economic growth from the bill,' the members said. In both the House and the Senate, Republican leaders can only lose three votes and still pass the measure along party lines.
