Suspect faces US hate charges after fire attack on Jewish protest
A man posing as a gardener to get close to a group in Boulder holding their weekly demonstration for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza planned to kill them all with Molotov cocktails, authorities said Monday.
But he had second thoughts and only threw two out of the 18 incendiary devices he had into the group of about 20 people, yelling "Free Palestine" and accidentally burning himself, police said. Twelve people were injured in the Sunday attack. He had gas in a backpack sprayer but told investigators he didn't spray it on anyone but himself "because he had planned on dying."
"He said he had to do it, he should do it, and he would not forgive himself if he did not do it," police wrote in an affidavit. He didn't carry out his full plan "because he got scared and had never hurt anyone before."
Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, planned the attack for more than a year and specifically targeted what he described as a "Zionist group," authorities said in court papers charging him with a federal hate crime. The suspect's first name also was spelled Mohammed in some court documents.
"When he was interviewed about the attack, he said he wanted them all to die, he had no regrets and he would go back and do it again," Acting U.S. Attorney J. Bishop Grewell for the District of Colorado said during a press conference Monday.
Federal and state prosecutors filed separate criminal cases against Soliman, charging him with a hate crime and attempted murder, respectively. He faces additional state charges related to the incendiary devices, and more charges are possible in federal court, where the Justice Department will seek a grand jury indictment.
During a state court hearing Monday, Soliman appeared briefly via a video link from the Boulder County Jail wearing an orange jumpsuit. Another court hearing is set for Thursday. Soliman is being held on a $10 million, cash-only bond, prosecutors said.
An FBI affidavit says Soliman confessed to the attack after being taken into custody Sunday and told the police he was driven by a desire "to kill all Zionist people," a reference to the movement to establish and protect a Jewish state in Israel.
Soliman's attorney, public defender Kathryn Herold, declined to comment after the hearing.
Soliman was living in the U.S. illegally after entering the country in August 2022 on a B2 visa that expired in February 2023, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a post on the social platform X.
The burst of violence at the popular Pearl Street pedestrian mall in downtown Boulder unfolded against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war that continues to inflame global tensions and has contributed to a spike in antisemitic violence in the United States. The attack happened on the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot and barely a week after a man who also yelled "Free Palestine" was charged with fatally shooting two Israeli embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington.
Six victims hospitalized
The victims who were wounded range in age from 52 to 88, and the injuries spanned from serious to minor, officials said. All four of the latest victims had what police described as minor injuries.
Six of the injured were taken to hospitals, and four have since been released, said Miri Kornfeld, a Denver-based organizer connected to the group. She said the clothing of one of those who remains hospitalized caught on fire.
The volunteer group called Run For Their Lives was concluding their weekly demonstration when video from the scene shows a witness shouting, "He's right there. He's throwing Molotov cocktails." A police officer with his gun drawn advances on a bare-chested suspect who is holding containers in each hand.
Witness Alex Osante of San Diego said he was across the pedestrian mall when he heard the crash of a bottle breaking and a "boom" followed by people yelling and screaming.
In video of the scene captured by Osante, people could be seen pouring water on a woman lying on the ground who Osante said had caught on fire during the attack.
Molotov cocktails found
Soliman said he dressed up like gardener with an orange vest in order to get as close to the group as possible, police wrote.
Osante said that after the suspect threw the two incendiary devices, apparently catching himself on fire as he threw the second, he took off his shirt and what appeared to be a bulletproof vest before the police arrived. The man dropped to the ground and was arrested without any apparent resistance in the video Osante filmed.
District Attorney Michael Dougherty said 16 unused Molotov cocktails were recovered by law enforcement. The devices were made up of glass wine carafe bottles or jars with clear liquid and red rags hanging out of the them, the FBI said.
Soliman told investigators he constructed the devices after doing research on YouTube and buying the ingredients.
"He stated that he had been planning the attack for a year and was waiting until after his daughter graduated to conduct the attack," the affidavit says.
Soliman also told investigators he took a concealed carry class and tried to buy a gun but was denied because he is not a legal U.S. citizen.
Suspect hospitalized after attack
Authorities said they believe Soliman acted alone. He was also injured and taken to a hospital. Authorities did not elaborate on the nature of his injuries, but a booking photo showed him with a large bandage over one ear.
In video and photos shot right after the attack by a woman at the gathering, Soliman can be seen pacing without his shirt on with what appears to be burns down one of his arms. He and a small group of people around him are screaming at each other, with some witnesses filming him.
Soliman, who was born in Egypt, moved to Colorado Springs three years ago, where he lived with his wife and five kids, according to state court documents. He previously spent 17 years living in Kuwait.
McLaughlin said Soliman filed for asylum in September 2022 and was granted a work authorization in March 2023 that had expired. DHS did not immediately respond to requests for additional information.
Shameka Pruiett knew Soliman and his wife as kindly neighbors with three young kids and two teenagers who'd play with Pruiett's kids.
Another neighbor, Kierra Johnson, said she could often hear shouting at night from his apartment and once called police because of the screaming and yelling.
On Sunday, Pruiett saw law enforcement vehicles waiting on the street throughout the day until the evening, when they spoke through a megaphone telling anyone in Soliman's home to come out. Nobody came out and it did not appear anyone was inside, said Pruiett.
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Nahar Net
6 hours ago
- Nahar Net
Survivors of Israel's pager attack on Hezbollah last year struggle to recover
by Naharnet Newsdesk 06 August 2025, 17:00 Her head heavy with a cold, Sarah Jaffal woke up late and shuffled into the kitchen. The silence of the apartment was pierced by the unfamiliar buzzing of a pager lying near a table. Annoyed but curious, the 21-year-old picked up the device belonging to a family member. She saw a message: "Error," then "Press OK." Jaffal didn't have time to respond. She didn't even hear the explosion. "Suddenly everything went dark," she said. "I felt I was in a whirlpool." She was in and out of consciousness for hours, blood streaming from her mouth, excruciating pain in her fingertips. At that moment on Sept. 17, 2024, thousands of pagers distributed to the Hezbollah group were blowing up in homes, offices, shops and on frontlines across Lebanon, remotely detonated by Israel. Hezbollah had been firing rockets into Israel almost daily for nearly a year in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. After years of planning, Israel had infiltrated the supply chain of Hezbollah, the most powerful of Iran's armed proxies in the Middle East. It used shell companies to sell the rigged devices to commercial associates of Hezbollah in an operation aimed at disrupting the Iran-backed group's communication networks and harming and disorienting its members. The pager attack was stunning in its scope. It wounded more than 3,000 people and killed 12, including two children. Israel boasts of it as a show of its technological and intelligence prowess. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently presented U.S. President Donald Trump with a golden pager as a gift. Human rights and United Nations reports, however, say the attack may have violated international law, calling it indiscriminate. Hezbollah, also a major Shiite political party with a wide network of social institutions, has acknowledged that most of those wounded and killed were its fighters or personnel. The simultaneous explosions in populated areas, however, also wounded many civilians like Jaffal, who was one of four women along with 71 men who received medical treatment in Iran. Hezbollah won't say how many civilians were hurt, but says most were relatives of the group's personnel or workers in Hezbollah-linked institutions, including hospitals. Ten months later, survivors are on a slow, painful path to recovery. They are easily identifiable, with missing eyes, faces laced with scars, hands with missing fingers — signs of the moment when they checked the buzzing devices. The scars also mark them as a likely Hezbollah member or a dependent. Rare interviews For weeks after the attack, The Associated Press attempted to reach survivors, who stayed out of the public eye. Many spent weeks outside Lebanon for medical treatment. Most in the group's tight-knit community remained quiet while Hezbollah investigated the massive security breach. The AP also contacted Hezbollah and its association treating those affected by the attacks to see if they could facilitate contacts. The group, at war with Israel for decades, is also one of the most powerful political factions in Lebanon, with members holding nearly 10% of parliament seats and two ministerial posts. It has its own security apparatus and offers extensive health, religious and other social and commercial services in southern and eastern Lebanon and parts of Beirut. A representative of Hezbollah's Association of Wounded did share with AP the contacts of eight people who had expressed readiness to share their stories. The AP independently contacted them, and six agreed to be interviewed. They included Jaffal and another woman, two 12-year-old children and two men, one a preacher, the other a fighter. All are family members of Hezbollah officials or fighters. All lost fingers. Shrapnel lodged under their skin. The men were blinded. The women and children each lost one eye, with the other damaged. There were no minders present, and no questions were off-limits. Some declined to answer questions about the identity or role of the pager's owner, identifying them only as relatives. The hours of interviews offered a rare glimpse into the attack's human toll. Survivors described how the incessantly buzzing pagers exploded when picked up, whether they pressed a button or not. Some said their ears still ring from the blast. "I've put up with so much pain I never imagined I could tolerate," said Jaffal, a university graduate. The survivors expressed ongoing support for Hezbollah but acknowledged the security breach. They blamed Israel for their wounds. Rights groups have argued the attack was indiscriminate because the pagers detonated in populated areas, and it was nearly impossible to know who was holding the devices or where they were when they exploded. 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Nine months later, Israel stunned and weakened Iran with a campaign of airstrikes that targeted Iranian nuclear sites, senior military officials and symbols of the Islamic Republic's grip. Hezbollah, meanwhile, has been left reeling. Besides the military blow, the group is left with the financial and psychological burden of thousands who need long-term medical treatment and recovery. Pagers are widely seen as outdated, but they were a main part of Hezbollah's communication network. Nasrallah had repeatedly warned against cellphones. Israel could easily track them, he said. With old pagers breaking down, the group ordered new ones. Israel sold the rigged devices through shell companies. According to a Hezbollah official, the group had ordered 15,000 pagers. Only 8,000 arrived, and nearly half were distributed to members. Others destined for Lebanon were intercepted in Turkey days after the attack when Hezbollah tipped off officials there. Hezbollah's investigation into how its communications networks were infiltrated found that the purchase of the rigged pagers resulted from negligence, and its officials were cleared of suspicions of collaborating with Israel, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the probe. Some Hezbollah members had complained the new pagers were too bulky. Some didn't use them because batteries died quickly or heated up. Hospitals were like a 'slaughterhouse' The simultaneous explosions spread chaos and panic in Lebanon. Hospitals were overwhelmed. It was like a "slaughterhouse," Zeinab Mestrah said. Until she reached a hospital, Mestrah thought an explosion in an electricity cable had blinded her, not the pager of a relative, a Hezbollah member. "People didn't recognize each other. Families were shouting out their relatives' names to identify them," she recalled from her home in Beirut. Doctors mainly stopped her bleeding. Five days later, the 26-year-old interior decorator and event planner traveled to Iran for treatment. Her right eye was saved, with shrapnel removed. The first thing she saw after 10 days of darkness was her mother. She also lost the tips of three fingers on her right hand. Her ears still ring today. Mestrah said her recovery has delayed plans to find a new career. She realizes she cannot resume her old one. The next thing she looks forward to is her wedding, to her fiance of eight years. "He is half my recovery," she said. The representative of Hezbollah's Association of Wounded said none of those injured has fully recovered. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to address the media. A Hezbollah fighter struck Mahdi Sheri, a 23-year-old Hezbollah fighter, had been ordered back to the frontline on the day of the attack. Before leaving, he charged his pager and spent time with family. For his security, no mobile phones were allowed in the house while he was there. There were many drones in the sky that day. His pager usually vibrated. This time, it beeped. He approached to check for Hezbollah warnings or directives. He saw the message: "Error," then "Press OK." He followed the prompt. He felt a sharp pain in his head and eyes. His bed was covered in blood. Thinking he had been hit by a drone, he stumbled outside and passed out. He was first treated in Syria, then in Iraq as hospitals in Lebanon struggled to handle the high number of patients. Shrapnel was removed from his left eye socket and he had a prosthetic eye installed. For a while, he could see shadows with his remaining eye. With time, that dimmed. He can no longer play football. Hezbollah is helping him find a new job. Sheri realizes it's impossible now to find a role alongside Hezbollah fighters. He asked his fiancée if she wanted to move on. She refused. 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L'Orient-Le Jour
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Israeli army says it killed a Hezbollah official in Bekaa strike
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