According to the Department of Justice, a suspect was arrested on Sunday in connection with a fire at Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Vermont office and is being investigated as arson. Per NBC News, Shant Soghomonian, 35, also known as Michael Soghomonian, previously of Northridge, California, was arrested Sunday on charges of using fire to damage a building in Burlington, Vermont, where an office for Sanders is located.
The DOJ said in a press release that Soghomonian allegedly entered the building Friday morning and went to Sanders’ Burlington third floor office location. Security video shows the suspect spraying a liquid near the outer door of the office before lighting the area with a hand-held lighter, starting the fire. The resulting fire damaged the outside of the door to Sanders’ office and surrounding areas and caused sprinklers in the building to discharge on multiple floors, with noone physically injured.
Soghomonian’s initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle has not yet been scheduled. If convicted, Soghomonian could face between five and 20 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine, according to the Justice Department.
Sanders’ office shared the following statement: “I am deeply grateful to the swift, professional, coordinated efforts of local, state, and federal law enforcement in response to the fire at my Vermont office on Friday. I am also thankful that none of the many people who were in the office building at the time of the fire were injured. I appreciate the outpouring of support and well-wishes for me and my staff. We are proud to be able to continue to serve Vermonters during these challenging times.”
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