Man charged with federal hate crime, attempted murder in Colorado

Yahoo

2 days ago

June 2 (UPI) -- The 45-year-old man accused of using a flamethrower and Molotov cocktails to burn people demonstrating in support of Israeli hostages in Boulder, Colo., was charged with a federal hate crime and is facing 16 state counts of attempted murder on Monday.
Mohamed Sabry Soliman, of Colorado Springs, was booked into the Boulder County jail on Sunday night after the attack near the county courthouse. Soliman appeared in county court Monday, during which bond was set at $10 million, and is due back Thursday when charges will be formally filed.
He is facing 16 counts of attempted murder in the first degree, eight counts of first-degree assault and 18 counts of possession of an incendiary device. This could add up to at least 384 years of prison time on conviction.
In federal court, he is being charged with commission of a hate crime, acting United States Attorney for the District of Colorado J. Bishop Grewell said during a news conference. Soliman would face the maximum sentence of life in prison.
Soliman, an Egyptian national, entered Canada in August 2022 on a B2 visa that expired in February 2023 and his asylum claim was pending, said Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
"The Colorado Terrorist attack suspect, Mohamed Soliman, is illegally in our country," she said in a post on X. "He filed for asylum in September 2022.
Victims
Authorities increased the number of those hurt to 12 from eight on Monday. Four women and four men hospitalized range from 52 to 88. Two people were airlifted to a hospital in Aurora near Denver, an FBI official said. Boulder is 30 miles north of Denver.
The other victims have been released from Boulder hospitals.
Those injured included an 88-year-old woman, who is a Holocaust refugee from Europe. Rabbi Israel Wilhem, the Chabad director at the University of Colorado in Boulder, told CBS Colorado she is "very loving person."
"Holocaust survivors should not spend the final chapter of their lives experiencing or witnessing this hatred again," Leo Terrell, the Justice Department official in charge of the antisemitism task force," posted on X. "We must fight this terror together."
Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said the newly identified victims suffered minor injuries and learned about them when they came forward to be interviewed.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, whose mother was born in a concentration camp and his grandparents survived the Holocaust, said the attack was "very cruel" and has "every single hallmark of being a hate crime."
"This was a peaceful march done every single week by the Jewish community, calling out the injustices of the hostages, and they were attacked because of who they are," he said on MSNBC. "It is heart-wrenching for all of us in Colorado."
FBI Director Kash Patel has called the incident "a targeted terror attack."
What happened
Mark Michalek, the FBI special agent in charge, said witnesses reported hearing the suspect yell "Free Palestine" during the attack.
"It is clear that this is a targeted act of violence and the FBI is investigating this as an act of terrorism," he said.
The suspect told investigators he "wanted to kill all Zionist people" and "he would do it again," according to an affidavit filed Monday.
Soliman told investigators the attack was planned for a year, according to a federal criminal complaint, and he arrived at the gathering about five minutes before it started.
He said he looked up videos on how to make Molotov cocktails on YouTube and purchased the items needed to make them, the complaint stated.
A black plastic container with 14 unlit Molotov cocktails was found near where he was arrested. It include "glass wine carafe bottles or Ball jars containing clear liquid and red rags hanging out of the bottles," the affidavit said.
Soliman "mentioned several times he wanted to be dead" in interviews with law enforcement, the warrant read.
Soliman was not on the authorities' radar before the attack.
Boulder's Redfearn said his officers didn't have previous "contacts" with him.
One witness told NBC News he was dressed like a groundskeeper.
"When I walked by the gentleman, I didn't know who he was, but thought he was out of place and odd," Lisa Turnquist, 66, said. "It wasn't 10 seconds later, I felt fluid on my leg and another lady had been burned."
Turnquist, who was not injured, said she was with about 20 other members of Boulder Run for Their Lives when they were attacked.
On Monday, Turnquist, who is Jewish and lives in Louisville, placed flowers at a makeshift memorial.
Reaction
The pro-Israel advocacy group the Anti-Defamation League said the demonstrators attacked in a statement were participants of the weekly Run for Their Lives event, which sees Jewish community members run and walk in solidarity with Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity.
"Today, America bore witness to yet another heinous act of anti-Semitism designed to terrorize a peaceful community," Colorado Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a statement Sunday.
"This type of hate-filled violence has no place in our civilized society and must be universally condemned."
The attack, which was near Pearl St. Mall in downtown Boulder, occurred just before 1:30 p.m. MDT, authorities said. Police found victims suffering from burns.
The ADL on Sunday said, "We're witnessing a global campaign of intimidation and terror deliberately directed against the Jewish people."
According to the ADL, there have been nine plots or attacks allegedly targeting Jews or Jewish institutions in the United States in the past 11 months, a sharp increase compared with seven January 2020 to June of last year.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that Sunday's attack "will not be tolerated."
"He came in through Biden's ridiculous Open Border Policy, which has hurt our Country so badly. He must go out under 'TRUMP' Policy," the president said.
"Acts of Terrorism will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law," Trump wrote. "This is yet another example of why we must keep our Borders SECURE, and deport Illegal, Anti-American Radicals from our Homeland. My heart goes out to the victims of this terrible tragedy, and the Great People of Boulder, Colorado!"
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted on X: "There is NO room in the United States for the rest of the world's terrorist sympathizers. Anyone who thinks they can come to America and hide behind the First Amendment to advocate for antisemitic violence and terrorism - think again. You are not welcome here. We will find you, deport you, and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law. Our prayers are with the victims, families, and people of Boulder, Colorado. This evil has to STOP now."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on X: "This attack was aimed against peaceful people who wished to express their solidarity with the hostages held by Hamas, simply because they were Jews.
"I trust the American authorities will prosecute the cold-blooded perpetrator to the fullest extent of the law and will do everything possible to prevent future attacks against innocent civilians.
"The antisemitic attacks around the world are a direct result of blood libels against the Jewish state and people, and this must be stopped."