U.S. immigration authorities detain family of man charged in Colorado attack

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BOULDER, Colo. — The wife and five children of an Egyptian man accused of firebombing an event in Colorado in support of Israeli hostages were taken into custody Tuesday by U.S. immigration officials and threatened with a swift deportation. 

The family of Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, could be deported as early as Tuesday night, the White House said in a post on X. It’s rare that family members of a person accused of a crime are detained and threatened with deportation in this way. 

Soliman, disguised as a gardener, had planned to kill all of the roughly 20 participants in Sunday’s demonstration and had 18 Molotov cocktails, but he threw just two while yelling “Free Palestine,” police said. Soliman, who federal authorities say has been living in the U.S. illegally, didn’t carry out his full plan “because he got scared and had never hurt anyone before,” police wrote in an affidavit. 

The two incendiary devices he threw were enough to injure 12 of the participants in the weekly demonstration held at the popular Pearl Street pedestrian mall in downtown Boulder, authorities said, noting that he expressed no remorse about the attack. 

Soliman told authorities that no one, including his family, knew about his plans for the attack, according to court documents that, at times, spelled his name as “Mohammed.” 

According to an FBI affidavit, Soliman told police he was driven by a desire “to kill all Zionist people” — a reference to the movement to establish and protect a Jewish state in Israel. 

Soliman left an iPhone hidden in a desk drawer at his Colorado Springs home that contained messages to his family, according to an FBI affidavit. After his arrest, his wife gave his phone to police, saying it was his but was also used by other family members. 

Defendant’s immigration status 

Soliman was born in el-Motamedia, an Egyptian farming village in the Nile Delta province of Gharbia that’s located about 120 kilometres (75 miles) north of Cairo, according to an Egyptian security official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to talk to the media. Soliman was also a handball player for a club in Cairo, the club’s former chairman wrote on Facebook. 

Before moving to Colorado Springs three years ago, he spent 17 years in Kuwait, according to court documents. 

He has been living in the U.S. illegally, having arrived in August 2022 on a tourist visa that expired in February 2023, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a post on X. She said Soliman filed for asylum in September 2022 and was granted a work authorization in March 2023, but that it also expired. The immigration status of his wife and children is not clear, and DHS did not respond to requests for additional information. 

Hundreds of thousands of people overstay their visas each year in the United States, according to the Homeland Security Department reports. 

The overstay rate for Egyptians on business or tourist visas is low compared to many other countries. 

The case against Soliman 

Soliman told authorities that he had been planning the attack for a year and was waiting for his daughter to graduate before carrying it out, the affidavit said. 

A newspaper in Colorado Springs that profiled one of Soliman’s children in April notes the family’s journey from Egypt to Kuwait and then to the U.S. It said after initially struggling in school, she landed academic honours, founded an Arabic club and volunteered at a local hospital as part of her plan to attend medical school. 

Soliman currently faces federal hate crime charges and attempted murder charges at the state level, but authorities say additional charges could be brought. He’s being held in a county jail on a $10 million bond. 

His attorney, Kathryn Herold, declined to comment after a state court hearing Monday. 

The attack unfolded against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war, which continues to inflame global tensions and has contributed to a spike in antisemitic violence in the United States. The attack happened at the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot and barely a week after a man who also yelled “Free Palestine” was charged with fatally shooting two Israeli Embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington. 

Six victims hospitalized

The victims ranged in age from 52 to 88, and their injuries spanned from serious to minor, officials said. They were members of the volunteer group called Run For Their Lives who were holding their weekly demonstration. 

Three victims remained hospitalized Tuesday at the UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital, spokesperson Kelli Christensen said. 

One of the 12 victims was a child when her family fled the Nazis during the Holocaust, said Ginger Delgado of the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office, who is acting as a spokesperson for the family of the woman, who doesn’t want her name used. 

Molotov cocktails found

Witnesses and police have said Soliman threw two incendiary devices, catching himself on fire as he hurled the second. Soliman took off his shirt and what appeared to be a bulletproof vest before police arrived and arrested him, said witness Alex Osante of San Diego. 

Solimon told authorities he had gas in a backpack sprayer but didn’t spray it on anyone but himself because “he had planned on dying,” officials said. 

Soliman also told investigators that he took a concealed-carry class and tried to buy a gun but was denied because he isn’t a U.S. citizen. 

Authorities said they believe Soliman acted alone. Although they did not elaborate on the nature of his injuries, a booking photo showed him with a large bandage over one ear. 

— Associated Press reporters Eric Tucker in Washington, Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Missouri, Samy Magdy in Cairo and Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City contributed to this report.