Colorado firebomb suspect planned attack for a year, prosecutors say

CNA

2 days ago

BOULDER: An Egyptian national charged with tossing gasoline bombs at a pro-Israeli rally in Colorado, injuring a dozen people, spent a year planning his attack and used Molotov cocktails instead of a gun because his status as a noncitizen barred him from purchasing firearms, prosecutors said on Monday (Jun 2).
Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, told investigators that he wanted to "kill all Zionist people" but had delayed committing the attack in the city of Boulder until after his daughter had graduated from high school, according to state and federal court documents charging him with attempted murder, assault and a federal hate crime.
Police and FBI affidavits quoted the suspect as saying he had learned to shoot a gun in a class he took for the purpose of obtaining a concealed-carry permit but ended up using Molotov cocktails because of his immigration status. Soliman told investigators that he had learned how to make the fire bombs from YouTube.
Todd Lyons, acting director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said Soliman had overstayed a tourist visa and had an expired work permit.
Trump administration officials immediately seized on Sunday's violence as an example of why they are cracking down on illegal immigration.
A police affidavit filed in support of Soliman's arrest warrant said he was born in Egypt, lived in Kuwait for 17 years and moved three years ago to Colorado Springs, about 61km south of Boulder, where he lived with his wife and five children.
"In light of yesterday's horrific attack, all terrorists, their family members, and terrorist sympathisers here on a visa should know that under the Trump administration we will find you, revoke your visa, and deport you," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X.
According to the Boulder police affidavit, Soliman had planned for a year to carry out the attack, which unfolded on the Pearl Street Mall, a popular pedestrian shopping district near the University of Colorado.
The victims, many of them elderly, were taking part in an event organised by Run for Their Lives, an organisation devoted to drawing attention to the hostages seized in the aftermath of Hamas' 2023 attack on Israel.
The attack was the latest act of violence aimed at Jewish Americans linked to outrage over Israel's escalating military offensive in Gaza.
It followed the fatal shooting of two Israeli Embassy aides that took place outside Washington's Capital Jewish Museum last month.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi said the suspect would be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law for what was described as an "antisemitic terror attack".
Authorities said they found 16 gasoline-filled Molotov cocktails near where the suspect was detained.
The police also found a gasoline canister in his car parked nearby and a weed sprayer filled with gasoline at the scene.
The federal affidavit references a video posted on social media during the attack showing Soliman "shirtless, pacing back and forth while holding what appear to be Molotov cocktails".
During a brief court appearance on Monday, Soliman appeared via a video feed from the Boulder County Jail, standing and wearing an orange jumpsuit. He answered "yes" to some procedural questions from the judge but otherwise did not speak.
Soliman's attorney, public defender Kathryn Herold, said during the hearing that she would reserve any arguments regarding his bond conditions until a future date.
The suspect faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if found guilty on the federal hate crime charge because he was also charged with attempted-murder charges in state court.
The multiple counts of attempted murder are punishable by up to 384 years in prison.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson previously said Soliman had entered the United States in August 2022 and filed for asylum the following month. "The suspect, Mohamed Soliman, is illegally in our country," the spokesperson said.
"There are millions of individuals like this that we are attempting to locate from the past administration that weren't properly screened that were allowed in," Lyons, the acting ICE director, said during a press conference in Boston.
"I will tell you that's a huge effort for ICE right now."
US President Donald Trump said in a social media post that such attacks would not be tolerated. "This is yet another example of why we must keep our Borders SECURE, and deport Illegal, Anti-American Radicals from our Homeland," he said.
Under former President Joe Biden, ICE prioritised arrests of serious criminals and called for officers to consider humanitarian factors when making arrests.
Four women and four men between 52 and 88 years of age were transported to hospitals after Sunday's attack, Boulder police said. On Monday, local authorities said four more surviving victims had since been identified.
Rabbi Yisroel Wilhelm, the Chabad director at the University of Colorado, Boulder, told CBS Colorado that the 88-year-old victim was a Holocaust refugee who fled Europe.
Sunday's attack was not the first high-profile incident of mass violence in Boulder, a university town that attracts many young professionals and outdoor enthusiasts. In 2021, a gunman fatally shot 10 people, including an off-duty police officer, in a local supermarket.