Family of suspect in Colorado fire attack taken into custody of US immigration
US immigration authorities have taken into custody the family of Mohamed Sabry Soliman, the man who allegedly used a flamethrower to attack a Colorado rally for Israeli hostages, the Department of Homeland Security said on Tuesday.
Twelve people were wounded in Boulder on Sunday when the 45-year-old allegedly used incendiary devices to attack people demonstrating for the release of hostages in Gaza in what the FBI has deemed an 'act of terrorism'. During the attack, Soliman allegedly targeted Zionists and shouted 'Free Palestine'.
The Trump administration quickly seized on Soliman's immigration status to push its mass deportation agenda. Soliman was in the US on an expired tourist visa after entering the country in 2022 from Egypt. Trump has blamed the attack on his predecessor, arguing it was the result of Joe Biden's 'ridiculous Open Border Policy'.
Kristi Noem, the Department of Homeland Security secretary, announced on Tuesday that immigration agents were taking Soliman's wife and five children into custody, and that federal officials are investigating whether his family knew about his plans.
Soliman allegedly planned the attack for more than a year and initially intended to kill everyone at the rally but did not carry out his full plan 'because he got scared and had never hurt anyone before', according to a police affidavit. He told authorities he had originally planned to use a gun but was unable to buy one because he was not a US citizen.
Soliman faces numerous state and federal charges, including 16 state counts of attempted murder, 18 related to the use of an incendiary device and a federal hate crime charge.
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