A visit to a Delaware County lawmaker’s office over a $19 tax bill has landed a 65-year-old man in prison, after authorities say he threatened to burn down Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s mansion and used an antisemitic slur. Richard Franklin was arrested the next morning and is being held at the Delaware County prison on a mix of felony and misdemeanor charges while he awaits a preliminary hearing.
Arrest and charges
State Police say Franklin is charged with terroristic threats, ethnic intimidation, harassment and disorderly conduct. According to CBS Philadelphia, troopers from the Pennsylvania State Police’s Political Violence Threat Unit responded to the report and arrested him without incident.
The Political Violence Threat Unit was created in May to investigate ideologically motivated threats against elected officials, according to a news release from the Pennsylvania State Police.
What happened at the district office
According to police documents, Franklin and his brother went to State Rep. Leanne Krueger’s Brookhaven district office to challenge an unexpected $19 tax bill. A staffer who tried to help told investigators Franklin “became irate,” crumpled the form and launched into what was described as a “threatening, harassing and antisemitic” tirade.
The staffer reported that Franklin made a comment about wanting to “burn down” the governor’s mansion, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Franklin’s brother has pushed back on that account and told reporters, “Anybody who said he did is lying.”
Context: last year’s arson
The alleged threat hit a nerve because Shapiro’s state-owned residence was firebombed in April 2025, forcing the governor’s family to flee and triggering a major investigation. The man charged in that attack, Cody Balmer, later pleaded guilty and received a sentence of 25 to 50 years in prison, according to The Associated Press.
Legal stakes
Under Pennsylvania law, making terroristic threats is criminalized in 18 Pa.C.S. § 2706, while ethnic intimidation is defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 2710. That ethnic intimidation statute can enhance the grading of certain underlying offenses and increase potential sentencing exposure, according to case summaries on Justia.
What’s next
Court records show Franklin was unable to post $100,000 bail and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on July 16. Rep. Krueger’s office referred questions to House Democrats, while the governor’s office directed inquiries to state police, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
