An arrest has been made in connection to the arson attack on Friday that damaged Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) office in Burlington, Vermont.
Arrest Made In Arson Attack On Bernie Sanders’ Office https://t.co/gWWrGhtVjV pic.twitter.com/AP2R991AtR
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Shant Soghomonian, a 35-year-old man who is also known as Michael Soghomonian, was arrested on Sunday after a federal criminal complaint was made in the case.
As revealed in a press release by the Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont, Soghomonian is charged with damaging the building at One Church Street in Burlington using fire.
The targeted building was described as “a building used in interstate commerce and as a place of activity affecting interstate commerce.”
Soghomonian reportedly entered the building on Friday morning and went to the third floor where Sanders’ office is located. According to the press release, Soghomonian was recorded on the surveillance camera spraying a liquid substance near the outer door of the lawmaker’s office. He then reportedly lighted the area with a handheld lighter, resulting in a blaze that “quickly began while Soghomonian departed via a staircase.”
According to the release, the blaze “damaged the outside of the office door and surrounding areas, and the building sprinklers discharged on multiple floors.”
“The Senator’s office was occupied by multiple employees who were not physically injured during the incident. It is not known how many other occupants were in the building, but no injuries were reported,” he added.
According to Vermont’s U.S. Attorney’s Office, Soghomonian faces from five to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 if he is convicted for the fire damage.
Sanders was not in office at the time of the incident, as he was in Los Angeles for a strike by hotel workers who were demanding improving pay and better working conditions.
Before Soghomonian was identified as the suspect in the arson attack, police released a photo of him wearing a dark jacket, a hat and long pants. In the release, police asked “the public for assistance in identifying the suspect” in the incident in which they said no one was physically wounded.