Suspect arrested for arson at Sen. Bernie Sanders’s Vermont office
A man was arrested Sunday on a federal arson charge related to the fire started Friday at the Vermont office of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont announced Sunday.
Shant Soghomonian, also known as Michael Soghomonian, was arrested Sunday after allegedly using fire to damage the building at One Church Street in Burlington, Vt. The building is used in interstate commerce, requiring the alleged crime to be prosecuted at the federal level.
An initial court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin Doyle had not been scheduled as of midday Sunday.
On Friday, local officials responded to what the Burlington Police Department (BPD) called “an arson incident” at the senator’s office. At the time, the Burlington fire marshal’s office described the fire to be “incendiary in nature.”
No injuries were reported, but Sanders’s office was occupied by “multiple employees” at the time of the incident, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said.
Security cameras captured Soghomonian spraying liquid near the outer door of Sanders’s office on the third floor and then “lighting the area with a handheld lighter,” according to court records.
“A blaze quickly began while Soghomonian departed via a staircase. The resulting fire damaged the outside of the office door and surrounding areas, and the building sprinklers discharged on multiple floors,” the DOJ said in a press release, citing court records.
If convicted, the suspect could face a maximum possible penalty of 5-20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, according to DOJ.
“We are grateful to the Burlington Fire and Police Departments who responded immediately today to a fire incident that took place in our office building,” Kathryn Van Haste, state director for Sanders, said Friday in a statement to The Hill. “We are relieved that no one on our staff and, to our understanding, no one in the building was harmed.”
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