By Mike Donoghue, Vermont News First
SHELBURNE – Federal authorities arrested a former Northridge, Calif. man on Sunday in Shelburne on a charge of causing damage by setting fire at the entrance to the offices of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT in Burlington two days earlier.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives jailed Shant Soghomonian, 35, on a federal complaint at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans Town about 7:20 a.m. Sunday pending a hearing in federal court this week.
The defendant, also known as Michael Soghomonian, was found staying at the Quality Inn on Shelburne Road in Shelburne, officials said.
Soghomonian was due to check out of his room shortly, a desk clerk told Vermont News First.
The Burlington Fire Department reported on Friday that somebody entered 1 Church Street – the old Masonic Temple at the top of Church Street at 10:44 a.m. and went to the third floor, which houses several offices, including Sanders’ primary Vermont office.
Security video showed a man spraying a liquid on the door at Sanders’ office and setting it afire, officials said. Sanders was not in the office at the time.
Burlington Fire Chief Michael LaChance said the sprinkler system and fire alarms were activated and people were evacuated. He said the fire was located between the elevator and the door to Sanders’ office and quickly extinguished.
The video captured clear images of the arsonist at the historic building, officials said.
The ATF, the Vermont State Police Arson Division, which investigated the fire along with city fire officials, and local police began working on trying to identify the suspect. Pictures of the suspect were shared with the news media and soon investigators began to get tips from the public.
The identity of the suspect was uncovered and a statewide alert was issued to all police to be on the watch in their area for Soghomonian and/or his 2019 Blue Subaru with New York plates, police said.
Investigators checked throughout the Burlington area for the car Soghomonian was believed to be using.
Williston Police Sgt. Eric Shepard, who assigned to the ATF’s Gun Violence Task Force, asked Shelburne Police to check all their hotels, police said. Shelburne Sgt. Kyle Kapitanski subsequently alerted Shepard that the wanted car was at the inn just south of the South Burlington city line, police said.
The ATF agents subsequently took Soghomonian into custody shortly after 5 a.m. with Shelburne Police assisting. It was unknown if he offered any comments or invoked his Constitutional right to remain silent.
The motive for the fire remains unclear.
Investigators likely obtained search warrants for the room and his car, but the outcomes were unknown. U.S. Attorney Nikolas “Kolo” Kerest said he would not offer any details beyond a brief news release that his office said was based on court records. No court records could be found on the court’s public computer. Kerest later said he expected the court records will be made public on Tuesday.
A desk clerk at the inn told Vermont News First that Soghomonian had checked in Saturday morning and was due to leave Sunday morning. She said the inn was fully booked for Sunday and Monday nights due to the eclipse.
“He came in quietly,” the clerk said. His room was in the back portion of the inn, not visible from Shelburne Road.
Soghomonian is not expected to have his initial appearance before Federal Magistrate Kevin J. Doyle in U.S. District Court until Tuesday when court reopens.
Kerest said in his news release that Soghomonian was recorded on a security video spraying a liquid near the outer door of the senator’s office and then lighting the area with a handheld lighter. A blaze quickly began while Soghomonian departed down a staircase, Kerest said.
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, Kerest said.
The initial criminal complaint filed by ATF carries a possible penalty of 5 to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, upon conviction.