click to enlarge - File: Courtney Lamdin ©️ Seven Days
- Mayor Miro Weinberger
Burlington police are investigating after a reported break-in Tuesday at Mayor Miro Weinberger's Hill Section home.
Weinberger said in a statement that his family returned home around 5 p.m. to find their home had been broken into. They immediately called the police.
"I am grateful to the officers who responded quickly and professionally, and who work every day to keep Burlingtonians safe," the mayor's statement said. "I am also heartened by the messages from many neighbors who have already shared concern for our family.”
Weinberger was still at City Hall when his family discovered the crime, a spokesperson said. No one was hurt.
Asked if the break-in was politically motivated, acting Police Chief Jon Murad said that responding officers "made no observations that this was anything other than a burglary."
Police have yet to determine if any items were stolen.
"This is an ongoing investigation of a crime that happened just an hour and a half ago," Murad wrote in an email to
Seven Days around 7 p.m. Tuesday. "We’re still processing the crime scene and will eventually work to create an inventory to identify whether anything was taken."
The break-in comes just months after someone smashed the windshield of Weinberger's Tesla Model 3 sedan, which was parked in the mayor's designated spot on St. Paul Street near City Hall Park. During that incident last September, the man also broke multiple windows at City Hall and was criminally cited. Weinberger
told WCAX-TV shortly afterward that he didn't think the vandalism was politically-motivated.
Weinberger has been an outspoken proponent of maintaining a fully staffed police force, which made him a target of activists during the summer of 2020. That June, nearly 100 protesters assembled outside the mayor's house to demand the city reduce its police spending. When a white SUV pulled out of Weinberger's driveway, some activists gave chase and followed the vehicle to the end of Summit Street.
The mayor's office later said that Weinberger's wife and children were inside the vehicle; he was at City Hall. The protesters staged a die-in on Weinberger's front lawn but didn't damage any property.
Correction, January 25, 2022: A previous version of this story misreported the mayor's whereabouts when his family discovered the break-in.