The unrepentant said he would do it again,” the FBI said. The five fathers targeted Israeli groups in particular.
Jewish Boulder residents talk about the attack in pro-Israel protests
Lisa Turnquist, a Jewish resident of Boulder, used a towel that had to suffocate the flames on an older woman after attacking in Israeli protests.
Boulder – Muslim immigrants armed with Molotov cocktails made him look like a landscaper with flowers and clothes with murderous intent.
An elderly Jewish woman pushed the dog into a stroller and peacefully called for the release of Israeli hostages 7,000 miles away.
Long-term concerns about the rise in anti-Semitism in the United States broke out in shocking acts of violence on June 1, which injured 12 in the well-known liberal city and prompted immediate thugs from President Donald Trump and others.
Now, court records and interviews paint a horrifying picture of the suspect’s one year conspiracy to bomb a pro-Israel protest walk on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
The suspect, Mohamed Sabri Soliman, 45, is facing state charges of federal hate crimes and murder charges, as well as attempted murder, using burnt Cen devices and other crimes. Soliman, the father of five who worked as an Uber driver, remains in jail.
“Solliman said he would do it again. He specifically targeted the ‘Zionist groups’ gathered in Boulder, who learned about the group from an online search,” the FBI said in court documents.
The afternoon attack on the protest walk surprised Boulder, leaving many businesses closed on June 2 along the red brick pedestrian Pearl Street Mall.
The Jewish community organization struggled to continue the day camp and Sharvot holidays. Under heavy security, Passing tourists took photos of a scene where workers cleaned charred marks from the pavement from the front of the historic Boulder County Courthouse.
“Yesterday’s horrifying attack in Boulder, Colorado will not be tolerated in the United States,” Trump said in a social media post. “Terrorist acts are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Soliman planned an attack for a year
In court proceedings against Soliman Advanced, investigators have released new details about his motives.
According to federal officials, Soliman entered the United States on a tourist visa in late 2022 and later requested asylum. He, his wife and their children live in Colorado Springs, a more conservative city about 100 miles south of Boulder, and Soliman worked as an Uber driver, the company confirmed.
Soliman is a native Egyptian who lived in Kuwait with his family for over a decade. He told investigators he was intentionally waiting for his daughter to attack the protest “running for their lives” until after she graduated from high school.
Her profile, published in the Colorado Springs Gazette, said that while her family arrived in the United States rather than speaking English, Habiva Soliman learned English and founded an Arabic club in high school. According to school records, she graduated May 29th.
Investigators said her dad headed to Boulder three days later to attack the protest.
“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.
Investigators said Soliman took a hidden weapon class to learn how to fire a gun as part of his plan, but found that his immigration status prevented him from buying it. Without a gun, Soliman spoke to investigators, turning to gasoline and glass bottles, and relied on backpack spray devices that landscapers often use to distribute pesticides and fertilizers.
“Mohamed expressed hatred of the ‘Zionist organisation’ while supporting and funding the bombings taking place in Palestine,” Boulder police wrote John Sailor in his arrest warrant. “Mohamed drove out of Castle Rock and bought most of the materials needed to carry out the attack there.”
Soliman stopped several times on a drive from Colorado Springs, bought a bottle for Molotov cocktail, filled with 87 octane gas, bought a Home Depot to buy flowers like camouflage, and dressed like a gardener “to get as close to the group as possible.”
The protesters were used for harsh accusations
The disguise didn’t work on Lisaturn Quist, 66.
A longtime attendee on the protest walk, Turnquist got a sense of how they usually go and who is in Boulder on Sunday afternoons. She quickly stood out as she walked past the courthouse with her dog Jake and dog Jake in a stroller.
About 20 people were walking on June 1st, and she saw familiar faces, but Turnquist said he didn’t know much about by name. They share a desire to see the Israeli hostages released, but she said, people don’t necessarily exchange names.
Over the months of protests – they began shortly after Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023. Participants ignored those who they call genocide supporters, she said, and only kept their quiet presence. The Turnquist is Jewish and her partner’s family lives in Israel.
“We don’t stand up to anyone when we’re walking, we do it quietly,” Turnquist told USA Today. “We ignore people who are opposed to us. Every week, people are always screaming at us. They say we are causing genocide. We are not causing genocide.”
Extremism and anti-Semitism experts have been warning for several years that attacks directed at Jews are on the rise. Crossing Boulder, the Jewish facility was protected by police and armed guards after the attack. In a statement, Mountain said the opposition league in the statement.
“We must use this moment as a wake-up call. The rise of American anti-Semitism calls for urgent action on all of us, and we must join together,” the group said.
She knew such concerns, but said Turnquist didn’t think he would physically attack Boulder’s protest march.
A violent encounter
When Turnquist approached the courthouse to begin his walk for the day, Soliman had left his parked Toyota Prius, investigators said. Inside was a strip of Quran and cloth, from which he tore the core for a Molotov cocktail. Soliman arrived at Boulder almost an hour before the march, then headed to the courthouse carrying boxes of glass jars filled with flowers and gas.
Turnquist thought Soliman was watching the scene on a Sunday afternoon. Court premises are usually maintained by county workers and do not work on Sundays.
“Something said he would continue walking by his side,” she said. She continued walking. Others weren’t that lucky.
Turnquist said she grabbed a towel from the dog Jake’s stroller and helped suffocate the flames in one elderly woman’s foot. “Eight of us had her put out the fire.”
Turnquist says he saw Soliman just standing as the Bystanders choked the flames and he didn’t resist when police confronted him. Turnquist said he issued a statement to investigators after the incident.
“I think he wanted to be killed as a martian or wanted to be caught,” she said the day after the incident, after attaching flowers and an Israeli flag to a small memorial outside the courthouse. “What was he planning? Was he planning to run away and hit other people?”
“We have to push back.”
Soliman was injured in a burning Cen attack and later told investigators he had planned to die.
The FBI said investigators had discovered 14 unused Molotov cocktails in plastic bottles near where police detained Soliman, along with a gas-loaded weed sprayer. Investigators said Soliman has revealed that he left an iPhone at home containing a message to his family. Investigators did not immediately release details of these messages or the contents of the journal.
“He had planned to die, so he said he had no gas sprayed on anyone other than himself. Mohamed has stated several times that he died,” Boulder police wrote in an arrest affidavit. “Mohamed said he was scared and never hurt anyone, so he just threw two (Molotov cocktails) into the group and he said he had to do that.
Two injured dozens remained hospitalized the day after the attack.
Turnquist said he has a hard time figuring out why someone is attacking peaceful protesters so vigorously. She was considering attending Soliman’s June 2nd court hearing, but worried she would not be able to hold herself back from the courtroom explosion. She said she can’t understand how someone thinks that demands for the return of hostages are considered the basis for a terrorist attack.
“We just want them to go home, so we do this,” she said. “I woke up this morning and didn’t want to get out of bed. I didn’t want to get out of bed and didn’t want to talk to a friend calling me. But this has to get up and get up and push it back.”
Soliman remains in jail on $10 million in cash bonds.
