Man accused of fire-bombing pro-Israel rally indicted on 12 hate crime charges

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DENVER — A man accused of hurling Molotov cocktails at a group of people demonstrating in Boulder, Colo., in support of Israeli hostages has been indicted by a federal grand jury on 12 hate crime counts.

Mohamed Sabry Soliman was initially charged with only one hate crime count in federal court in the June 1 attack on demonstrators. The federal grand jury indictment, which was filed in court Tuesday, had been expected for weeks as a formality in advancing the felony criminal case toward trial. It is routine for prosecutors to add charges beyond the crimes alleged in an initial criminal complaint.

The indictment accuses Soliman of trying to kill eight people who were hurt by the Molotov cocktails and targeting them because of their perceived or actual national origin, which prosecutors say was their perceived or actual connection to and support for Israel. He was also indicted for another hate crime for trying to kill others at the event or nearby who were not injured.

Soliman was also charged with two counts of using a fire and explosive to commit a felony and one count of possessing an explosive device while committing a felony, which are also considered to be hate crimes.

Investigators say Soliman told them he had intended to kill the roughly 20 participants at the weekly demonstration on Boulder’s Pearl Street pedestrian mall, but threw just two of his over two dozen Molotov cocktails while yelling “Free Palestine.” Soliman, who is also being prosecuted in state court for attempted murder and other charges, told investigators he tried to buy a gun but was not able to because he was not a “legal citizen.”

He posed as a gardener, wearing a construction vest, to get close to the group before launching the attack, according to court documents.

Federal authorities say Soliman, an Egyptian national, has been living in the U.S. illegally with his family.

Soliman is being represented in state and federal court by public defenders who do not comment on their cases to the media.

At a hearing last week, Soliman’s defence attorney, David Kraut, urged Magistrate Judge Kathryn Starnella not to allow the case to move forward because he said the alleged attack was not a hate crime. Instead, he said it was motivated by opposition to Zionism, the movement to establish and sustain a Jewish state in Israel. An attack motivated by someone’s political views is not considered a hate crime under federal law.

Soliman is scheduled to appear in federal court on Friday for a hearing in which he will be asked to enter a plea to the charges.

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