Investigating the attack at Colorado Mall FBI
The FBI is investigating reports of “target attacks” at Boulder, Colorado Mall.
Boulder, Colorado — A man accused of setting up an eight-person attack in a pro-Israel protest here is charged with a federal hate crime after asking him that he wanted all Zionist people to kill and that he wanted them all to be dead.
Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, is accused of attacking weekly “running” demonstrations with makeshift flamethrowers and fire bombs while screaming “free Palestine” on Sunday. The victims, ages 52 to 88, suffered injuries ranging from serious to minors, police said Sunday. Police said in a brief statement Monday that the victim never died overnight.
According to the affidavit, Soliman had no repent and wanted to tell authorities what he had learned about the demonstrations from an online search, preventing him from taking over “our land” – Palestine. Soliman tells investigators he had planned the attack for a year and waited for his daughter to graduate before she could carry it out.
Soliman was detained at the scene and was scheduled to appear in court on Monday.
“The Justice Department will promptly accuse the illegal alien perpetrator of this heinous attack of a federal hate crime and hold him accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” Attorney General Pam Bondy said in a statement.
Soliman is a married father of five and told investigators he had learned how to make Molotov cocktails from the internet and ranted about Palestine’s protection, the FBI said.
Investigators said Soliman had planned an attack for a year, and when he drove to Boulder about 100 miles north from his Colorado Springs home, he bought 87 octanes of gasoline on the day of the attack. The FBI said investigators had discovered 14 unused Molotov cocktails in plastic bottles near the location where police detained Soliman.
Investigators said Soliman revealed he left an iPhone at home with the journal containing a message to his family. Investigators did not immediately release details of these messages or the contents of the journal. Soliman is being held on a $10 million bond at the Boulder County Jail and has been accused of throwing two glass bottles at protesters.
“Through the interview, Soliman said he did this because he hated the Zionist group, hated the group and needed to take over ‘our land’, which he described as Palestine,” FBI agent Jessica Kruger said in an affidavit. “He said he had planned an attack for a year and waited until his daughter graduated and made the attack.”
Soliman, of El Paso County, Colorado, was taken into custody after witnesses pointed him out, authorities said. He was booked with multiple preliminary charges, including first-degree murder and using explosives or burnt Cen devices while committing a felony.
Police said Soliman was injured in the incident and was taken to a medically assessed hospital before being booked at Boulder County Jail. Stephen Miller, vice-chief of staff for President Donald Trump, said Soliman had overstayed tourist visas issued in 2022.
“In response, the Biden administration granted him a work permit,” Miller said in a social media post. “Immigration security is national security. There are no more hostile migrations. We will keep them out and send them back.”
According to multiple outlets, Soliman is an Egyptian national, including CBS and Fox News, and cites unknown sources.
FBI agents searched the Soliman home in El Paso County hours after the attack, the Denver agency’s field office said on X. Click here for details.
Uber confirmed on June 2 that Soliman had been working as a driver in the spring of 2023. The company did not specify whether they were driving passengers or working for Uber’s meals, either.
In a statement to USA Today, the company said his account has been terminated and it has banned him from working there again. It noted that the company passed background checks and provided legally necessary documents to work as a contractor.
“Mr. Soliman had nothing to do with feedback while driving on the Uber platform,” the company said in a statement. “We have banned driver accounts and are in touch with law enforcement.”
Trump condemns Biden’s border policy
Trump on Monday cited Soliman as “another reason for regressing illegal, anti-American extremists abroad.”
“Yesterday’s horrifying attack in Boulder, Colorado will not be tolerated in the United States,” Trump said in a social media post. “He came through Biden’s ridiculous open border policy that seriously hurt our country. He has to go out under the ‘Trump’ policy. Terrorist acts are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. ”
Security, four miles from the scene of the attack, was extremely strict on the vast Boulder Jewish Community Center campus. There, an outdoor summer camp program was being held under the surveillance of both police and armed civil security. The JCC serves as a central hub for Jewish residents in many areas, and security guards are regular presences. JCC staff said they are still debating how to best respect the victims of the attack and refuse to comment publicly.
“When events like this enter our own community, we shake up. Our hope is that we will come together with each other,” a center official said in a social media post. “Strength for you all.”
The attack fell on Shabuott’s Jewish holiday, and less than two weeks later, after two Israeli embassy aides were fatally shot and killed outside the Jewish museum in Washington, DC, Jaron Lisinski, 30.
The suspect in the attack, Elias Rodriguez, 31, chanted “Free Palestine, Free Palestine” after being detained by the security of the event. He is being charged on a long list of crimes, including federal and local murder charges and murders from foreign authorities. The May 21 shooting is being investigated as a crime of hatred and terrorism.
The Boulder attack occurred in “a regular schedule, weekly, peaceful events,” said Mark Mikalek, special agent in charge of FBI Denver. Anyone with a video, social media post, or digital recording was asked to upload it to www.fbi.gov/boulderAttack.
“We are in full solidarity with our targeted people,” Mikalek said. “We will continue to ensure that justice is pursued promptly, that support is provided to victims and their communities, and that precautions are taken to protect the safety of all.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed solidarity on Monday with the victims who were attacked “just because they were Jews.” He said he is confident that US authorities will “sue cold-blooded assailants to the greatest extent of the law.”
“Anti-Semitic attacks around the world are the direct result of bloody honours on the Jewish state and people, and we must stop this,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
Soliman was in the United States on a B-2 tourist visa, according to Homeland Security Director Tricia McLaughlin. The B-2 visa is commonly used for tourism and is issued by the State Department. Generally, visas are valid for six months and can be used to participate in holidays, visits, relatives, medical, music, sports, or events.
The State Department issues millions of B-1 and B-2 visas each year. The B-1 visa is similar to the B-2, allowing non-immigrants to visit for six months for meetings or business reasons.
Soliman entered the US in August 2022, and in February 2023 his visa expired. Additionally, McLaughlin writes to X that Soliman applied for asylum in 2022. The claim was still pending. As of March, the immigration court backlog was around 3.6 million, according to Syracuse University’s transaction record access clearinghouse.
– – Nick Penstadler
Ravi Israel Wilhelm, Chabad director at the University of Colorado Boulder, told CBS Colorado the 88-year-old victim was a Holocaust refugee who fled Europe. Wilhelm described the woman as “a very loving person.”
Chany Shayner, a friend of the victim, said Kusa-TV was “surprising” the woman.
“She spoke not only in our synagogues, but in other synagogues and schools, from her background, the Holocaust and her own perspective,” Shiner said. “Her life hasn’t been easy, but she’s just a bright light. And anyone who is her friend is a friend of life.”
The incident comes amid rising tensions in the US and around the world over Israeli military campaign in Gaza. The war has been going on for 20 months as Hamas saw attacks on the Israeli border killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and over 250 were dragged across the border to Gaza as hostages.
According to an annual report released in April, the conflict promoted anti-Semitic hate crimes in reporting cases of anti-Semitic cases.
Contravaly also urged Israeli supporters, including President Donald Trump, to brand the peaceful, pro-Palestinian protests as anti-Semitic.
Earlier Sunday, Boulder Dispatch received several calls to the county courthouse around 1:26pm local time, Redfearn said. The first report showed that there was a man with a weapon and people were burning on the scene.
Responding officers encountered multiple victims who were injured with burns and other injuries, Redfern said.
Contributions: Thao Nguyen, Susan Miller, Bart Jansen, Michael Collins, USA Today. Reuters
