NBC NEWS
A suspect was arrested Sunday in connection to a fire at Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Vermont office that is being investigated as arson, according to the Department of Justice.
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.
Soghomonian allegedly entered the building Friday morning and went to the third floor, where Sanders’ Burlington office is located, according to court records. Security video shows the suspect spraying a liquid near the outer door of the office before lighting the area with a handheld lighter and a blaze beginning, according to DOJ.
The fire damaged the outside of the door to Sanders’ office and surrounding areas and caused sprinklers in the building to discharge on multiple floors, DOJ said. Multiple employees of Sanders occupied the office at the time, but they were not physically injured during the incident, officials added. The number of other occupants who were in the building at the time is unknown, but there were no injuries reported.
