A man, later identified as Shant Soghomonian, right, allegedly set the door to Sen. Bernie Sanders’ office on Friday in Burlington, Vermont. Soghomonian was arrested on Sunday. (Soghomonian: Burlington police; Sanders: AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
The man who allegedly set fire to the door to Sen. Bernie Sanders office in Burlington, Vermont, has been arrested, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Authorities took Shant Soghomonian, also known as Michael Soghomonian, 35, into custody on Sunday. He’s accused of using an accelerant on the door of Sanders’ office at 1 Church Street on Friday morning, setting it ablaze and running away. The whole incident was captured on surveillance video, officials said.
The Burlington Police Department said a “significant fire engulfed the door and part of the vestibule” trapping several Sanders staffers inside.
The sprinkler system turned on which largely put out the fire. First responders evacuated the Sanders staffers as well as workers in surrounding offices. The door and vestibule received moderate damage while there was significant water damage to the area and floors below Sanders’ office, cops said.
Burlington police released a photo of the suspect on Friday and officials had him arrested less than 48 hours later. A motive for the fire hasn’t been released. Sanders was in California speaking to striking hotel workers on Friday.
If convicted, Soghomonian faces between 5 years and 20 years in prison along with a fine of up to $250,000.
“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, the Vermont state director for Senator Sanders, said in a statement to the New York Times.
Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak in a statement to CNN thanked law enforcement for bringing a “swift resolution” to the investigation.
“My office has offered the support of the Burlington Community Justice Center to Senator Sanders’s staff, and we will continue to be in close communication as their office navigates the impacts of this incident,” she said.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
