Family of man charged in Boulder attack detained by ICE
The family of the man charged with the attack of a pro-Israel group in Boulder, Colorado, were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Tuesday, officials said.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a video shared online that Mohamed Sabry Soliman, the suspect charged in the attack, would be prosecuted to the 'full extent,' but officials were examining what role, if any, his family played in the incident.
'Today, the Department of Homeland Security and ICE are taking the family of suspected Boulder, Colorado terrorist and illegal alien, Mohammed Soliman, into ICE custody,' Noem said. 'Now, Mohammed's despicable actions will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, but we're also investigating to what extent his family knew about this horrific attack, if they had any knowledge of it or if they provided support to it.'
According to The Associated Press, Soliman's wife and five children were detained. They were being processed by ICE as of Tuesday afternoon.
On Sunday, officials say that Soliman disguised himself as a gardener and had 18 Molotov cocktails on him when he intended to kill gatherers in a group bringing attention to hostages detained by Hamas in Gaza.
Twelve people were injured after he allegedly threw two of the incendiary devices on demonstrators at Boulder's Pearl Street Mall and yelled, 'Free Palestine.'
He had initially intended to kill all demonstrators, but had changed his mind because he got scared and had never hurt anyone, a police affidavit said, the AP reported.
The news service reported that Soliman said no one, including his family, knew about his plans, despite him allegedly planning on carrying out the attack for more than a year.
Soliman, who is from Egypt, has been in the country illegally. He entered under a B2 visa in 2022 that expired in February 2023 and filed for asylum in September 2022, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said.
The Deseret News has reached out to DHS and the State Department for comment, but The New York Times reported that according to McLaughlin, Soliman's wife and children had their visas revoked.
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