A 36-year-old man accused of setting fire to the door of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Burlington office has been found mentally incompetent and “unable to assist properly in his defense.” A federal judge ordered that he be sent to a “suitable facility” to receive treatment.
Shant Michael Soghomonian was indicted by a federal grand jury last year. He pleaded not guilty to a charge of using fire to damage a building used in interstate commerce, which carries a five to 20 year prison sentence.
Federal prosecutors allege that Soghomonian sprayed a liquid on the door of Sander's downtown Burlington office in April 2024 and then lit the door on fire. There were multiple people inside, though no one was injured. Sanders was not in the office.
Soghomonian has been held in prison since his arrest last year.
According to the order issued on Oct. 16 by U.S. District Court Judge William Sessions, two psychological evaluations of Soghomonian, plus his behavior at a hearing in February, suggest that Soghomonian “may be experiencing delusional thought patterns that prevent him from making rational case-related decisions and collaborating with his counsel.”
VTDigger first reported Sessions’ order.
A forensic psychological assessment from August 2024 stated that Soghomonian “exhibited a series of paranoid delusions” and believed his own attorneys were working with government agents “to conspire against him.”
Then on Feb. 24, 2025, Soghomonian interrupted a status conference and made a speech to the court in which he warned the public about crimes committed against American citizens involving “biotechnological weaponry and a cover up of insane acts of violence by the government,” Sessions wrote in his order.
A second psychological evaluation of Soghomonian this August also found that Soghomonian may not be competent to stand trial.
According to Sessions’ order, Dr. Emily Morse, a forensic psychologist with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, thought that Soghomonian’s delusions might prevent him from working with his attorneys because he believed they were part of a conspiracy against him.
Sessions placed Soghomonian in the custody of the Attorney General and ordered that he be treated in a "suitable facility for a reasonable period of time, not to exceed four months.” The facility treating Soghomonian must file reports about if his condition is improving and if he is able to understand the criminal proceedings against him.
Soghomonian has a history of mental health issues, according to Sessions’ order and statements made during previous court hearings.
Soghomonian has moved around the county over the past several years and frequently lived at motels. He’d been staying at a hotel in Burlington for about two months before he allegedly set Sanders’ office door on fire, according to court records.
