Man arrested for setting fire outside Bernie Sanders office stayed in area hotel for weeks

The man accused of starting a fire outside U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Vermont office had been staying at an area hotel for nearly two months and was seen outside Sanders’ office the day before and the day of the fire , according to court documents filed. by a federal agent.

Shant Michael Soghomonian, 35, from Northridge, Calif., entered the building Friday and went to Sanders’ office on the third floor where security video showed him throwing a liquid on the bottom from the door and set it on fire with a lighter. according to Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The interior of the building sustained some damage from the fire and sprinklers that flooded the area with water, but no one was injured. Sanders, an independent, was not in the office at the time. Seven employees working in the office at the time were unharmed and were able to evacuate.

The investigating officer spotted what appeared to be the remains of a container of lighter fluid and a red cap on the floor near the office door.

Soghomonian was arrested Sunday on charges of using fire to damage a building used in interstate commerce, according to the U.S. attorney in Vermont. He had been staying at the Inn at Burlington in south Burlington for several weeks, an employee told authorities, according to the affidavit.

When police knocked on the hotel room door, they heard a man say he was getting dressed, according to an application to search the hotel room and a vehicle registered in New York. Officers then heard what sounded like the man dragging heavy items near the door. Officers obtained a key and attempted to open the door but it was blocked, according to the court document. They forced the door and arrested Soghomonian without incident, they said.

Sanders said in a statement that he was “deeply grateful for the prompt, professional and coordinated efforts of local, state and federal law enforcement in response to the fire” and grateful that none of the people in the office was not injured.

The motive remained unclear. It was not immediately known whether Soghomonian had an attorney, and an initial court appearance had not been scheduled, officials said. A telephone message left with the Chittenden County Public Defenders Office was not immediately returned. Soghomonian was being held at the Northwest State Correctional Center in St. Albans.

The crime carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

The case was investigated by the Burlington, Shelburne and Williston police departments; Vermont State Police; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the U.S. Capitol Police, officials said.