Latest news with #proIsrael
Al Jazeera
6 hours ago
- General
- Al Jazeera
Family of suspect in Colorado firebomb attack held in immigration custody
Federal officials in the United States have taken into custody the family of a man suspected of attacking a pro-Israel rally in Boulder, Colorado, over the weekend. In a video on Tuesday, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that the family of Egyptian national Mohamed Sabry Soliman had been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 'This terrorist will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,' Noem said in the video. 'We are investigating to what extent his family knew about this heinous attack, if they had knowledge of it, or if they provided support to it.' Police have accused the 45-year-old Soliman of throwing Molotov cocktails into a crowd that had gathered for an event organised by Run for Their Lives, a group calling for the release of Israeli captives held in Gaza. According to an affidavit, Soliman yelled 'Free Palestine' while hurling the incendiary devices. The firebombs injured 12 people, three of whom remain hospitalised. Police have said Soliman planned the attack for more than a year. He is facing federal hate crime charges. '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,' J Bishop Grewell, Colorado's acting US attorney, said during a news conference Monday. Soliman said that he acted alone and that nobody else knew of his plans. But officials with the administration of US President Donald Trump said they will investigate whether his wife and five children were aware of the suspect's intentions. Administration officials have also highlighted the fact that Soliman, an Egyptian national, was in the US on an expired tourist visa, tying his arrest — and that of his family — to a larger push against undocumented immigration. 'The United States has zero tolerance for foreign visitors who support terrorism,' White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday. 'Under the Trump administration, aliens will only be admitted into the United States through the legal process and only if they do not bear hostile attitudes towards our citizens, our culture, our government, our institutions or, most importantly, our founding principles.' Soliman's family includes a wife and five children. The official White House account on the social media platform X indicated that they 'could be deported by tonight'. 'Six One-Way Tickets for Mohamed's Wife and Five Kids. Final Boarding Call Coming Soon,' Tuesday's post read. The attack comes amid rising tensions in the US over Israel's continued war in Gaza, which United Nations experts and human rights groups have compared to a genocide. It also comes less than two weeks after the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy employees outside a Jewish museum in Washington, DC. Jewish as well as Muslim and Arab communities have reported sharp upticks in harassment and violence since the war began. Trump and his allies have used concerns about anti-Semitism as a pretext to push hardline policies on immigration and a crackdown on pro-Palestine activists. 'This is yet another example of why we must keep our Borders SECURE, and deport Illegal, Anti-American Radicals from our Homeland,' Trump said in a social media post on Monday. But the president and his supporters have themselves faced allegations of leaning into anti-Semitic rhetoric. And his administration's push to expel foreign nationals has caused alarm among civil liberties groups. The administration is currently attempting to deport several international students involved in pro-Palestine activity, including a Turkish graduate student named Rumeysa Ozturk. Her legal team argues that Ozturk appears to have been arrested for co-signing an op-ed calling for an end to the war in Gaza. Ozturk was released from immigrant detention in May following a legal challenge, but she continues to face deportation proceedings.
The National
6 hours ago
- General
- The National
Colorado attack suspect's family being held for deportation
The wife and five children of the man charged with fire-bombing 12 people at a Colorado event held in support of Israeli hostages have been arrested by US immigration authorities and are being processed to be deported. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said federal officials are looking into whether the family of the suspect, Mohamed Soliman, were involved in the June 1 attack. They are being processed for expedited removal, according to Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman at the department. The agency is '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', Ms Noem said in a video posted on social media. Mr Soliman, 45, has been charged with throwing two Molotov cocktails into a pro-Israel crowd and using a makeshift flamethrower at the event in Boulder. The suspect yelled 'free Palestine' during the attack, according to law enforcement. He faces a federal hate crime charge and dozens of state charges of attempted murder and attempted use of incendiary devices. An FBI special agent involved in the case said the suspect told investigators he 'wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead". Boulder police said Mr Soliman was born in Egypt and lived in Kuwait for 17 years. He and his family moved to Colorado Springs three years ago. He allegedly told authorities he had been planning the attack for a year, but waited for his daughter to graduate from high school before striking. Mr Soliman allegedly told law enforcement that he had left an iPhone and a journal behind for his family. An FBI official said agents had executed a search warrant at his home after the attack and that his family members were co-operative. The Department of Homeland Security said on Monday that Mr Soliman applied for asylum in September 2022, the month after he arrived on a tourist visa. As part of the application process he was approved for a work permit in March 2023, the same month his tourist visa expired. The department declined to provide the status of his asylum case or whether he had previously faced deportation. The agency did not respond to a request for comment on where his wife and children would be sent.
CBS News
7 hours ago
- General
- CBS News
Fund established by group JEWISHcolorado to help victims of Boulder terror attack
Jewish community leaders in Colorado on the day after a targeted attack on walkers in a peaceful pro-Israel march announced that they have launched a fund to help the victims. It is called the JEWISHcolorado Boulder Security Fund. Local faith leaders and members of the community conduct a prayer vigil for the victims of a fire attack outside the old Boulder County Courthouse on June 3, 2025 in Colorado. Chet Strange / Getty Images The firebombing attack in Boulder happened on the Pearl Street Mall on Sunday afternoon. Twelve people were injured when the suspect hurled Molotov cocktails at them, and several of those victims were taken to the hospital with serious burn injuries. According to their website, JEWISHcolorado works "on behalf of the Jewish community through outreach, advocacy, programming, and grantmaking." The group launched what they call an emergency fund to with the goal of raising $160,000 to help. The group says 100% of all donations will go to the community in Boulder, and the fund will focus on direct victim support, trauma support, security aid for Jewish groups. It will also focus on something described as "emerging community needs," meaning areas where funding becomes apparent in the weeks and months after the attack. "Thank you in advance for your support, and we continue to pray for a complete recovery for those injured in the attacks and continue to hold all hostages in our hearts," wrote JEWISHcolorado in a statement on its website. The suspect in the case is facing federal hate crime charges as well as local charges.
Fox News
7 hours ago
- General
- Fox News
Timeline exposes Boulder suspect's movements before allegedly carrying out firebomb attack on pro-Israel group
Officials allege Mohamed Sabry Soliman targeted a peaceful pro-Israel protest on Sunday in what is being described as a terror attack that left 12 people injured. Soliman's journey to the United States began in August 2022 when he arrived in the country on a B1/B2 visa and was supposed to leave in February 2023, but the Biden administration gave him work authorization through March 2025, two months before he was accused of injuring 12 people at a pro-Israel peaceful protest in Boulder, Colorado. Soliman allegedly told federal and local law enforcement officials that he targeted a "Zionist group" that gathered in Boulder because he wanted to stop them from taking over "our land," which he said is "Palestine." Soliman allegedly told law enforcement that he had been planning the attack for a year, waiting until after his daughter graduated to carry it out. Here's a timeline of Soliman's journey to the United States: Soliman flew into Los Angeles International Airport on a B1/B2 non-immigrant visa on Aug. 27, 2022, sources told Fox News. Sources told Fox News that Soliman made some kind of claim through United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, which was possibly for asylum. Sources told Fox News that Soliman's B1/B2 visa was set to expire on Feb. 26, 2023, but he didn't leave the country. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services gave Soliman work authorization on March 29, 2023, which was valid for around two years, sources said. Soliman began driving for Uber in the spring of 2023, a spokesperson for the company told Fox News Digital. Uber said Soliman met all requirements to drive for the company, which include passing a criminal and driving history background check, holding a valid Social Security number and providing a photo ID. One of Soliman's neighbors told Fox News Digital that Soliman was "not home that often" because he was "working really hard." A Veros health spokesperson told Fox News Digital that Soliman began working at the company in its accounting department. "He was hired in our accounting department. He went through a hiring process with ADP, our employer [Professional Employer Organization]. At the time of hire, he was confirmed to have a valid work visa, which was noted to expire in March 2025," the spokesperson said. Soliman's employment with Veros Health ended in August 2023, according to a company spokesperson. "We can confirm that Mohamed Soliman worked with Veros from May 2023 to August 2023," the spokesperson said. Soliman's work authorization ended in March 2025 after it was granted under the Biden administration in March 2023, sources said. Soliman was accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at the pro-Israel group "Run for Their Lives" as they were protesting for the release of Hamas' hostages. Twelve people were injured. Soliman was charged with first-degree murder, crimes against at-risk adults/elderly; first-degree assault, criminal attempt to commit class one and class two felonies, and use of explosives or incendiary devices during a felony. Former FBI special agent Jonathan Gilliam told Fox News Digital he's concerned the Biden administration didn't do a good enough job at vetting Soliman when he first came to the United States. "When we look at the border and how open the border was for over four years, literally wide open," Gilliam said. "The problem with individuals like this guy…is that they are presenting themselves as activists. They're presenting themselves as altruistic and acting out for a cause for the greater good." Gilliam said it's likely Soliman has harbored "hatred" for a period of time, but chose to act out on it now. "He came from an area where the hate is taught his entire life, of America, of Israel," Gilliam said. "He planned the event for a year, but he already had the hatred inside of him. So you're just seeing them act out on something that is already inside of them."
Fox News
8 hours ago
- General
- Fox News
Sanctuary policies in deep-blue Colorado led to terror attack, says local DA
Permissive laws in deep blue Colorado created an environment in which last weekend's antisemitic attack could occur, a local district attorney told Fox News Digital. In an interview with Fox News Digital, George Brauchler, a Republican district attorney for Colorado's 23rd district, said that the state government, which is dominated by Democrats, has been intentionally creating a lax, sanctuary-type environment regarding immigration enforcement. This, he said, emboldens illegals, such as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, the suspect accused of firebombing pro-Israel activists on Sunday, to act with impunity. A DHS spokeswoman has said Soliman, an Egyptian national, was living in the country illegally at the time of the attack. He entered the United States in August 2022 with a visa that expired in February 2023, the spokeswoman said, noting he applied for asylum during that time. Soliman allegedly injured eight adults, including a victim who was 88 years old, at an outdoor mall in Boulder, according to the FBI. The suspect was witnessed shouting "Free Palestine" during the attack and using a makeshift flamethrower to target the crowd, the FBI said. Police said the victims were hospitalized with burn wounds. They had been participating in a Run for Their Lives protest, which, according to the Anti-Defamation League, is a weekly event attended by members of the Jewish community to support hostages held in Gaza by Hamas terrorists. Discussing the brazen attack, Brauchler said: "When you have taken the ongoing steps that our state government has taken over the past many years to identify yourself to everyone, both citizen and noncitizen alike, that you are a sanctuary state - and it doesn't matter if they ever say those words, what matters is the policies in place - and when you had put local law enforcement on its heels, when it comes to trying to coordinate with immigration enforcement authorities, you create an environment where someone feels like visa or no visa, I can stay here and do whatever I want, whether it's to try to find a job off the books or to plan for a terrorist act against Jews up in Boulder." In response to the attack, Brauchler said he expects the Trump administration may assume control of the case and "make an example" of the perpetrator. "In the past, you would see some deference by the federal government to local prosecutors who showed an interest in prosecuting high-profile cases," he said. "But in this day and age, with illegal immigration being an issue, with the anti-Semitic terrorist acts being an issue, I can foresee President Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi saying, 'We're taking this case, we're going to use every tool at our disposal, we're going to highlight this prosecution, we're going to make an example of this guy, and we're going to send a message.'" Brauchler said that though "we've seen antisemitic stuff before out here, never in my recollection at this scale or this brazenly having somebody do this." "My worry is if we don't make a big, loud, powerful statement sooner rather than later, these things are going to start to repeat themselves, not just here, but everywhere," he said. "This is another horrific blemish on a state that I have known as home my entire life," he went on, adding that "because of the powers that be and the policies that have been put in place over the last 10 or 15 years, I don't recognize Colorado anymore." "It's hard to imagine, and it's just another black eye for our state that we didn't need," he said.
