A man who scaled an iron security fence in the middle of the night, eluded police and used beer bottles filled with gasoline to ignite the occupied Pennsylvania governor's mansion pleaded guilty Tuesday to attempted murder and other charges.

Cody Balmer, 38, also entered pleas to terrorism, 22 counts of arson, aggravated arson, burglary, aggravated assault of Gov. Josh Shapiro, 21 counts of reckless endangerment and loitering in the April 13 attack that did millions of dollars in damage to the state-owned brick building.

Under a plea deal, Balmer was sentenced to 25 to 50 years in prison.

Shapiro and members of his family had to be awakened and evacuated, but no one was injured. The multiple arson and endangerment charges reflected the number of people in the residence at the time, including the governor's family, guests and state troopers.

The fire was set hours after they celebrated the Jewish holiday of Passover with a Seder in the residence. Prosecutors played video clips that showed Molotov cocktails going off and a figure inside and outside the residence. Judge Deborah Curcillo called the video "horrific" and "very frightening."

With first lady Lori Shapiro by his side, Shapiro spoke to the media following the guilty plea and described the videos as chilling. 

"They've been haunting me for months, I've been trying to unsee them for the last six months."

Balmer told police he planned to beat Shapiro with a small sledgehammer if he had encountered him after breaking into the building, according to court documents. Balmer turned himself in the next afternoon to face charges of attempted homicide, terrorism, aggravated arson and aggravated assault.

Police say Balmer broke in through the southern wing of the residence, into a room often used to entertain crowds and display art. Investigators recovered two broken glass beer bottles containing gasoline. The fire charred walls, tables, buffet serving dishes, plates and a piano. Window panes and brick around doors and windows were also damaged.

"He was able to penetrate the residence right up to a door that led to the hallway where we were in our private living quarters," Shapiro painfully recounted.

Shapiro's Jewish faith and the attack during the Passover weekend raised questions about Balmer's motivation, but Balmer told The Associated Press in a May letter from jail that it had not been a factor in his decision.

"He can be Jewish, Muslim, or a purple people eater for all I care and as long as he leaves me and mine alone," Balmer wrote.

He said in a brief June 9 video interview from Camp Hill State Prison that he had thought beforehand about whether children might be injured.

"Does anyone ever consider children?" Balmer said in June. "It doesn't seem that way. I sure as hell did. I'm glad no one got hurt." Asked why he felt Shapiro had somehow done him wrong, Balmer replied: "I'm not going to answer that."

"I've carried with me this enormous sense of guilt," Shapiro said. "Guilt, that doing this job that I love so much has put our children's lives at risk. It's been really hard." 

Balmer's mother said days after his arrest that she had tried to get him assistance for mental health issues, but "nobody would help." Court proceedings had been delayed while he received mental health treatment, his lawyer has said.

At a court hearing a few days after the fire, Balmer told a judge he was an unemployed welder with no income or savings and "a lot of children."

The residence, built in 1968, did not have sprinklers. Work to fix the damage and to bolster its security features continues.

"The burden of the cleanup and the rebuild has been enormous, and as you know, it is ongoing," Shapiro said. "What you probably don't see is the subsequent security changes in all aspects of our lives and our children's lives." 

The Pennsylvania governor said the construction is a constant reminder of the attack and that personal safety isn't assured – they're vulnerable. 

Shapiro concluded by advising the public not to accept the spike in political violence as normal. 

"I think it's important that, in this time of rising political violence that none of us grow numb to it or accept this as the normal course of doing business for elected officials," he said.