Boulder attack suspect's family taken into ICE custody; live updates
Soliman, a native of Egypt who lives in Colorado Springs, is accused of attacking a weekly "Run for Their Lives" demonstration on June 1. Twelve people ages 52 to 88 suffered burns ranging from serious to minor, police said. Two remain hospitalized.
Soliman came to the U.S. on a tourist visa in late 2022 and stayed after the visa expired, requesting asylum. His daughter, Habiba Soliman, graduated from high school with honors on May 29 and said she saw the family's move to the U.S. as a chance to fulfill her dream of attending medical school.
Her father told investigators he did not complete his attack plan "because he got scared and had never hurt anyone before," according to a police affidavit.
He said "he wanted them to all die ... He said he would go back and do it again and had no regret doing what he did," Boulder Detective John Sailer wrote in court papers. Soliman explained that, to him, anyone who supported the existence of Israel on "our land" is Zionist. Mohamed defined "our Land" as Palestine, the affidavit said.
Soliman, 45, arrived at the scene Sunday with 18 Molotov cocktails but threw just two while yelling "Free Palestine," according to the affidavit. Soliman told authorities he took a class and learned to shoot a gun while planning the attack - only to find out he could not purchase a gun because he was not a U.S. citizen.
He said he then taught himself how to make Molotov cocktails from YouTube videos, the affidavit says. He told authorities no one else knew of his plan but that he did leave a journal with his family.
A federal affidavit charging Soliman with a hate crime and attempted murder says he learned about the demonstration from an online search. It says Soliman told investigators he planned the attack for a year and waited for a daughter to graduate from high school before executing it.
12 burned in Boulder attack: Suspect charged with federal hate crime
Habiba Soliman was profiled in an April story published in the Colorado Springs Gazette as one of its "Best and Brightest" senior class scholarship winners. Habiba told the paper she arrived in the United States as a high school sophomore speaking little English.
She attended Thomas Maclaren School, a K-12 charter school, where she not only worked on her English but signed up to learn German as her foreign language requirement. She also started an Arabic club.
Habiba was born in Egypt but lived in Kuwait for 14 years. Because she was not Kuwaiti, attending medical school there as she wanted was not an option, she said. The move to the United States provided a chance to fulfill her dream, she said.
"Coming to the USA has fundamentally changed me," she said. "I learned to adapt to new things even if it was hard. I learned to work under pressure and improve rapidly in a very short amount of time. Most importantly, I came to appreciate that family is the unchanging support."
Soliman is a native Egyptian who entered the United States in late 2022 on a tourist visa. He later requested asylum and remained in the country after his visa expired in February 2023. He, his wife and their children lived in Colorado Springs, about 100 miles south of Boulder. Soliman worked as an Uber driver, the company confirmed.
He drove to Boulder to attack the demonstrators three days after Habiba's graduation, according to investigators.
Unable to purchase a gun, Soliman told investigators he turned to gasoline, glass bottles and a backpack sprayer often used by landscapers to dispense pesticide or fertilizer. Soliman told investigators he stopped several times on his drive from Colorado Springs to buy bottles for the Molotov cocktails, the 87-octane gas to fill them and to Home Depot to buy flowers as camouflage to make it easier to "get as close as possible to the group."
- Trevor Hughes
Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the immigration story of Soliman is far from unique.
"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 said.
President Donald Trump, in a social media post Monday, called Sunday's attack "yet another example of why we must keep our Borders SECURE, and deport Illegal, Anti-American Radicals from our Homeland."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, echoed Trump in his own post, warning that "in light of yesterday's horrific attack, all terrorists, their family members, and terrorist sympathizers here on a visa should know that under the Trump administration we will find you, revoke your visa, and deport you."
Soliman appeared in court on Monday and was ordered held on $10 million bond. He is due back in court Thursday. 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 in state court.
Soliman also faces state charges including 16 counts of attempted murder and 18 counts of possesion of incendiary devices and related offenses. The attempted-murder counts alone are punishable by up to 384 years in prison, Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said.
More federal and/or state charges could be added later, authorities said.
Boulder has borne the pain of a mass attack before. In 2021, when a gunman killed 10 people during a rampage at a supermarket. Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 25, was convicted in September of 10 counts of murder and related charges.
On March 22, 2021, Alissa opened fire at King Soopers grocery store, killing two people in the parking lot and eight people in the store. Alissa pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, but he was found competent to stand trial in 2023 after spending time at a mental hospital.
Defense attorney Kathryn Herold said during her closing argument that the shooting was "born out of disease, not choice. ... Mr. Alissa committed these crimes because he was psychotic and delusional." Prosecutors said Alissa was able to distinguish right from wrong, that he was deliberate and calculated in his actions during the shooting and he hunted down his victims in an attempt to kill as many people as possible.
Contributing: Reuters
A chilling portrait: FBI says suspect planned his antisemitic attack for a year
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Spectator
2 hours ago
- Spectator
Letters: What Trump has got right
Trumped up charges Sir: I am a huge admirer of Max Hastings, whose contribution to our knowledge and understanding of global conflict is unparalleled. However, his passionate condemnation of Donald Trump is typical of the one-eyed liberal Weltanschauung that will continue to drive people both here and further afield into the arms of populist administrations ('The indignity of Trump', 2 August). Yes, Trump is horribly flawed, personally, politically and economically. However, he was democratically elected by voters who felt ignored and let down by the ruling liberal elite. For balance, we might remember that he is delivering upon his manifesto promises, unlike our government: illegal immigrants are being removed wholesale; the global economy is being rebalanced to fairer levels; stock markets are at or near record highs, the left-wing mainstream media is being reined in; huge government waste is being slashed; virtue-signalling chat-show hosts are being cancelled; and Canada is being targeted largely because it has failed to halt the flow of deadly fentanyl across the border. I have been in the States a lot recently and, far from it having become 'an uglier place', it still seems full of polite, respectful, energetic and optimistic go-getters. If only our limp, directionless government listened and delivered to such a degree, we might regain some of our national pride and positivity. David Edwards Norton-sub-Hamdon, Somerset Business experience Sir: It was interesting to read about Varun Chandra, the most important business adviser to Sir Keir Starmer ('Starmer's business whisperer', 2 August). He clearly has huge charm and a sound networking skill set, but disappointingly it appears he too has never actually run a business. If he had, surely he would have advised the PM before the last Budget that SMEs, the heartbeat of the economy, are particularly susceptible to economic shockwaves. The sudden and unexpected significant increase in business taxes last October in a fragile economy can perhaps be viewed as the Starmer government's biggest mistake so far, underpinning many of the economic woes that we all face. The latest Institute of Directors business survey indicates that business confidence is on the floor and, with the Employment Rights Bill yet to have an impact and with another Budget fast approaching, surely the PM and the Chancellor must ensure they have sound advice from someone who has actually run a business, before policy is announced? Networking ability has its place, but the government and the UK cannot afford any more economic missteps. Andrew Haynes London SW6 Bestselling smut Sir: As an English teacher, I have followed the decline in undergraduate English literature enrolment in recent years with dismay. It is unsurprising, though, when my pupils' idea of literature consists of bestselling smut ('Losing the plot', 2 August). I imagine university modules covering the satirical genius of Eliot or Austen seem unappealing to prospective students who are hooked on grotesquely eroticised Narnia. In the classroom, out of desperation, I am often tempted to endorse the fifth 'right' in Daniel Pennac's creed: 'to read anything'. However, Lara Brown is right to label romantasy as 'literature taken to its lowest form'. I ought to condemn rather than condone recommendations of Cloisters of Carnality or Lust in His Lair. Sam Finniear Guildford, Surrey Christian England Sir: Mary Wakefield's brilliant article last week was sincere and heartwarming, and I hope that Danny Kruger's address in the Commons is seen by Conservatives countrywide ('The prophet Daniel', 2 August). Christianity has defined the spiritual life, identity and culture of England. It retains all that is good, worthwhile and honourable. Alan M. Varley Crowborough, East Sussex God's wonderful railways Sir: The priestly blessing of a signal box described by Matthew Parris ('A glimpse of the essence of Englishness', 2 August) illustrates the long affinity between the Church of England and the nation's railways. This is exemplified in the career of Eric Treacy, Bishop of Wakefield from 1968 to 1976 and for more than 40 years one of Britain's leading photographers of steam locomotives. He is famous particularly for his stirring studies of Sir William Stanier's streamlined Pacifics as they emerged in the 1930s. He died of a heart attack in May 1978 on Appleby station while awaiting the arrival of Evening Star, the last steam engine built for British Railways. A plaque pays tribute to a 'railway photographer, pastor to railwaymen, lover of life and railways'. Christopher Gray Oxford Birder he wrote Sir: Birding and bird-watching are different activities (Real Life, 26 July). Bird-watching is passive and is about enjoying birds wherever they may show up. Birding is active and involves going out to look for them, particularly the less-often-seen ones. The next step on this path is 'twitching', where a tick for one's life-list might involve frantic effort and expense. Bird-watchers might enjoy the sights and sounds of birds in their gardens or local park; birders make specific trips to special sites carrying expensive optics. Far from being a lefty invention, 'birding' is the preferred term of the more dedicated, optically endowed and knowledgeable individuals, to distinguish themselves both from the everyday punters and the demented twitchers. Martin Skinner Tunbridge Wells, Kent Write to us letters@
Spectator
2 hours ago
- Spectator
The glorious richness of rillettes
I admit to feeling a little intimidated by charcuterie. I have a clutch of books on my shelf all laying out in step-by-step detail how to craft your own salami or whip up a perfect pancetta. They're well-thumbed, but not a single one has a cooking stain on it. I'm just too nervous when it comes to the scary stuff. I'm talking about the drying-sausages-hanging-from-the-rafters kind of charcuterie. I'm talking about jerry-rigging anti-pest guards to protect your hams. I can't quite get past the fact that charcuterie requires hanging meat somewhere in my house, which feels at best frightening and at worst like I'm actively inviting botulism into my home. I'll say it: I'm a charcuterie coward. But what I sometimes forget is that charcuterie is just a means of preserving cooked meat. And that doesn't need to mean an ultra-marathon of preservation; it could just be a gentle amble. So let's step back and see what happens if we cook a bit of pork. Rillettes are a cooked pork spread, a little like pâté, although don't let the French hear you say that. They're made by cooking lean pork and pork fat together very, very slowly, until the fat melts and the meat collapses. It's a lot like confit, and in the same way, the excess fat is then used to seal the cooked meat in pots, which, when cool, forms an impermeable layer, eliminating oxygen and preserving the meat. It's really the French version of potting meat; where the English used butter to create an airtight product, the French used the fat from the animal. Of course, now we have fridges and freezers, so having to preserve large portions of meat is far less of an issue. The reason, then, to make rillettes today is that they're delicious. Rillettes can be made of pork, or rabbit, or duck, or a combination thereof, but classic rillettes are made solely from pork. These rillettes have been made in Tours in France since the Middle Ages, where they were a peasant food that used off-cuts. This was picked up in the 18th century by local butchers, who began to use whole joints for the process. They boast 'protected designation of origin' status, which means that if you want to call your product 'rillettes de Tours', they need to be made in the city and follow a particular recipe. Even the colour of the finished product is dictated by legislation. My rillettes don't stray too far from the prescribed recipe. I prefer brandy to the more traditional wine, and I add it after cooking, just enough to thrum through the pork. And I cook the whole thing in the oven, rather than on the hob, because it requires less of me and the effect is very similar. The pork is cooked with bay and thyme, crushed black peppercorns and juniper berries, and then finished with a generous grating of nutmeg. Just before potting, they need to be seasoned robustly with lots of salt and pepper, remembering that you are tasting something warm which will ultimately be eaten cold, and low temperatures dull flavours, so seasoning should be exaggerated. Some rillette-makers use a stand mixer with a beater attachment to really go to town on the meat, almost whipping it into a mousse. But I like it to retain some texture and, frankly, still to look like meat, more terrine than parfait. A wooden spoon will do the trick, combined with a little elbow grease, and the pork will break down very quickly. If covered thoroughly with the melted fat, the rillettes will keep for weeks in the fridge – but once you've broken into the fat layer, finish the pot within a couple of days. The richness of the rillettes demands contrast when served: they need crunch, sharpness, sweetness. So I serve mine with sliced French stick, warmed briefly in the oven to soften the fridge-chill shock of the rillettes, and always with lots of the smallest cornichons that I can find, and then something bittersweet and sprightly. I love marmalade, actually, a proper one, with Seville orange, or an Italian mostarda di frutta – neither of which are even faintly authentic accompaniments, but if they're delicious, who cares? Serves: 8-10 as a starter Hands-on time: 30 minutes Cooks: 4 hours 1kg pork shoulder 300g pork belly 20 black peppercorns 20 juniper berries 1 tbsp fresh thyme 4 bay leaves (plus extras for garnish) 200ml water 60ml brandy ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg Black pepper, freshly ground, to taste Preheat the oven to 150°C/130°C fan. Remove any rind from the meat and discard. Dice the belly, then pare the fat away from the shoulder meat, and dice both fat and meat into 2in cubes. Place all meat and fat in a large, heavy-bottomed pan in a single layer. Crush the peppercorns and juniper in a pestle and mortar, and add to the meat, along with thyme and bay leaves. Add 200ml water, and bring to a gentle simmer. Once simmering, place a tight-fitting lid on the dish, and transfer to the oven. Cook for four hours, stirring every hour to ensure it's not sticking (add a splash more water if it is). After four hours, the fat should have melted, and the meat should be extremely tender. Spoon the meat into a sieve, collecting the liquid fat in a bowl underneath. Transfer the meat to another bowl, and beat with a spoon until it has completely broken up and begins to come together into a near-paste. Stir in the brandy, then season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Spoon the meat into ramekins, pressing down to eliminate air bubbles. Place a bay leaf on top of each ramekin for garnish, and then spoon on the reserved fat until you have a complete layer of fat sitting on top of the meat. Refrigerate until completely cold.
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
Only 1.5% of Gaza cropland left for starving Palestinians due to Israel's war, UN says
Israel's destruction of Gaza has left starving Palestinians with access to only 1.5% of cropland that is accessible and suitable for cultivation, according to new figures from the UN. This is down from 4% in April, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization, suggesting Israel has continued to target Palestinian farmland since initiating a complete blockade in early March, severely restricting aid from entering the Gaza Strip, where 2 million starved people are trapped. Before the conflict, Gaza was a thriving agricultural hub, where farmers and ordinary Palestinians cultivated a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains for local consumption. According to the FAO, agriculture accounted for around 10% of the Gaza Strip's economy, and more than 560,000 people, or a quarter of the population, were at least partially supported by agriculture and fishing. Israel has targeted food sources – orchards, greenhouses, farmland and fishers – since the beginning of its siege on Gaza in October 2023. By 28 July 2025, Israel had damaged 86%, the equivalent of almost 13,000 hectares (32,000 acres), of farmland in the Gaza Strip – up from 81% in April, the FAO said. While just under 9% of cropland is still physically accessible, only 1.5% – the equivalent of 232 hectares – is both accessible and not damaged by the Israeli offensive. 'Gaza is now on the brink of a full-scale famine. People are starving not because food is unavailable, but because access is blocked, local agrifood systems have collapsed, and families can no longer sustain even the most basic livelihoods,' said FAO director-general Qu Dongyu. 'We urgently need safe and sustained humanitarian access and immediate support to restore local food production and livelihoods – this is the only way to prevent further loss of life. The right to food is a basic human right.' In northern Gaza, Israeli tanks and bombs have destroyed or damaged 94% of what was among the most fertile, productive land in the territory, and Palestinians have no access to the remaining 6% of their cropland. In Rafah, near the Egypt border, 79% is flattened and the rest has been blocked as part of Israel's so-called military corridor. Last week, Israeli forces partially demolished a seed bank in Hebron, in the West Bank, destroying tools and equipments used to used to reproduce heirloom seeds. UN experts, agencies and aid groups have been warning since early 2024 that Israel is orchestrating a campaign of deliberate mass starvation in Gaza by systematically destroying local food production and blocking aid, in violation of international law. Hundreds of Palestinians have now starved to death, and thousands more have been killed trying to access food aid. Earlier this week, Michael Fakhri, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, told the Guardian: 'Israel has built the most efficient starvation machine you can imagine. So while it's always shocking to see people being starved, no one should act surprised. All the information has been out in the open since early 2024.'
