Suspect in Boulder terror attack targeting pro-Israel demonstrators charged with federal hate crimes

Fox News

8 hours ago

The suspect accused in a "targeted terror attack" in Boulder, Colorado earlier this month was formally charged Wednesday with additional hate crimes.
A federal grand jury indictment unsealed in Denver Wednesday charges Mohamed Sabry Soliman with 12 hate crime counts for using Molotov cocktails to attack a group of people demonstrating in support of Israeli hostages in Gaza. Soliman was initially charged with one count of a hate crime the day after the attack.
Wednesday's indictment alleges that Soliman entered a park in front of the Boulder County Courthouse on June 1 carrying a backpack weed sprayer containing a flammable liquid and a black plastic container holding over a dozen glass bottles and jars containing flammable liquid. Several of these allegedly had red rags stuffed through the top acting as wicks.
Around 1:30 p.m., Soliman approached people participating in the "Run for Their Lives" demonstration and hurled two lit Molotov cocktails at them while shouting "Free Palestine!" the indictment alleges.
Authorities later found a handwritten document in a vehicle driven by Soliman. The document excoriated Zionism – a movement to establish and sustain a Jewish state in Israel – and described Israel as a "cancer entity."
The indictment alleges that Soliman, a 45-year-old illegal immigrant from Egypt, told law enforcement during an interview that he wanted to take revenge on Zionists – i.e., anyone supporting Israel – and scoured the internet looking for a pro-Israeli event.
Eventually, Soliman allegedly told authorities that he discovered the "Run for Their Lives" group and identified the participants when he saw them carrying flags outside the courthouse.
The group is an organization that facilitates running and walking events calling for the release of all hostages being held in Gaza after the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.
The indictment accuses Soliman of trying to kill eight people – ages 52 to 88 – who were hurt by the Molotov cocktails and targeting them because of their perceived or actual national origin. Soliman's defense attorney argued at a hearing last week that the alleged attack was motivated by opposition to Zionism as a political ideology – which is not considered a hate crime under federal law.
Soliman is scheduled to appear in court this Friday for a hearing in which he will be asked to enter a plea on the hate crime charges.