BOULDER, Colorado. The family of Mohamed Sabry Soliman, the Egyptian national accused of hurling gasoline bombs at a pro-Israeli rally in Colorado, was taken into federal custody on Tuesday and faces potential deportation, officials said.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, in a video posted to social media, announced that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had detained Soliman’s family. Soliman, who lived in Colorado Springs, was in the U.S. illegally, having overstayed a tourist visa and an expired work permit. Noem stated that Soliman would be “prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” and that federal agents were investigating whether his family members knew about the attack or supported it in any way.
The White House confirmed in a social media post that Soliman’s family is in ICE custody for “expedited removal” and could be deported as early as tonight.
Local media reports identified Soliman’s family as including two teenagers and three younger children. Police and FBI officials said the family has been cooperative with the investigation, and Soliman told investigators that he acted alone.
Authorities say Soliman entered the U.S. in August 2022 on a tourist visa and applied for asylum the following month. He remained in the country after his visa expired in February 2023.
Sunday’s attack in Boulder, Colorado, left twelve people injured, many of them elderly, and targeted participants in an event organized by Run for Their Lives, which seeks to highlight the plight of hostages taken by Hamas in 2023.
According to court documents, Soliman, 45, admitted he wanted to “kill all Zionist people” and postponed the attack until his daughter graduated from high school. He faces charges of attempted murder, assault, and a federal hate crime. Investigators said Soliman told them he took firearms training but switched to Molotov cocktails because his noncitizen status prevented him from buying guns. He allegedly learned how to make the firebombs from YouTube videos.
Soliman, originally from Egypt and previously living in Kuwait, relocated to Colorado Springs about three years ago with his wife and five children. Police and FBI officials said there was no prior indication that Soliman would carry out an attack, and he was believed to have acted alone.
During the assault, Soliman reportedly threw two Molotov cocktails at the crowd while shouting “Free Palestine,” according to a police affidavit. The incident follows other recent acts of violence against Jewish Americans amid tensions over Israel’s ongoing military actions in Gaza.
Edgaroo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
- EDGARDO HERNALhttps://tutubi.ph/author/gary-hernal/
- EDGARDO HERNALhttps://tutubi.ph/author/gary-hernal/
- EDGARDO HERNALhttps://tutubi.ph/author/gary-hernal/
- EDGARDO HERNALhttps://tutubi.ph/author/gary-hernal/
