This goes beyond the governor being part of the elite and thus more likely to be protected by the law than an average citizen (unfortunately the case in the US

This goes beyond the governor being part of the elite and thus more likely to be protected by the law than an average citizen (unfortunately the case in the US). Attacking high public officials functionally is equivalent to attacking the state itself. Of course a government is going to punish people who attack it more harshly than those who do not. To do otherwise is to give a green light to anarchy and future attacks on the government.