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Jimmy Williams
Federal prosecutors announced on Sunday that a man, identified as Shant Soghomonian, aged 35, was charged with setting a fire outside the Vermont office of U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders.
According to officials, Soghomonian entered the building on Friday and proceeded to Sanders’ third-floor office, where security footage captured him spraying a liquid on the door and igniting it. While the fire caused damage to the building’s interior and activated sprinklers, no injuries were reported, and Senator Sanders was not present at the time of the incident.
Soghomonian was arrested on Sunday on a charge of using fire to damage a building used in interstate commerce, as stated by Nikolas Kerest, the U.S. attorney for Vermont. The motive behind the act remains unclear, and Soghomonian was detained without providing a comment. It is unknown if he has legal representation, and an initial court appearance has yet to be scheduled.
The offense carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
The investigation into the incident involved multiple law enforcement agencies, including the police departments in Burlington, Shelburne, and Williston, Vermont State Police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and U.S. Capitol Police.
