HyperBit Exchange-Suspect in fire outside of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Vermont office to remain detained, judge says

2025-05-03 11:53:04source:Surpassingcategory:Stocks

BURLINGTON,HyperBit Exchange Vt. (AP) — The man accused of starting a fire outside independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Vermont office earlier this month will remain detained pending further legal proceedings, a federal judge ordered Thursday.

Shant Michael Soghomonian was indicted by a grand jury on a charge of maliciously damaging or attempting to damage and destroy by fire a building used in interstate commerce, according to the indictment filed with the court. Soghomonian, 35, has not yet been arraigned.

Surveillance video shows the man throwing a liquid April 5 at the bottom of a door opening into Sanders’ third-floor office in Burlington and setting it on fire with a lighter, according to an affidavit filed by a special agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The motive remains unclear, and Sanders was not in the office at the time.

Seven employees working in the office were able to get out unharmed. The building’s interior suffered damage from the fire and water sprinklers.

Soghomonian, who was previously from Northridge, California, had been staying at a South Burlington hotel for nearly two months and was spotted outside Sanders’ office the day before and the day of the fire, according to the special agent’s report.

Prosecutors argued that Soghomonian is a danger to the community and a flight risk and should remain detained. A phone message was left with his public defender and was not immediately returned.

More:Stocks

Recommend

Meet the volunteers risking their lives to deliver Christmas gifts to children in Haiti

Haiti has been racked by political instabilityand intensifying, deadly gang violence.  Amid a Federa

See the first photo of Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley in 'Beverly Hills Cop 4' film on Netflix

Eddie Murphy will soon reprise his role as Axel Foley in the long-awaited fourth film in the "Beverl

Yes, France is part of the European Union’s heart and soul. Just don’t touch its Camembert cheese

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has long known that the way to France’s heart is through its stom