Colorado firebomb suspect planned attack for a year, say prosecutors

BOULDER, Colorado - An Egyptian national charged with

tossing petrol bombs at a pro-Israel rally

in the US state of Colorado, injuring a dozen people, spent a year planning his attack and used Molotov cocktails instead of a gun because his status as a non-citizen barred him from purchasing firearms, prosecutors said on June 2.

Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, told investigators that he wanted to “kill all Zionist people”, but had delayed carrying out the attack in the city of Boulder until after his daughter had graduated from high school, according to state and federal court documents charging him with attempted murder, assault and a federal hate crime.

Police and Federal Bureau of Invesgitation affidavits quoted the suspect as saying he had learnt to shoot a gun in a class he took for the purpose of obtaining a concealed-carry permit but ended up using Molotov cocktails because of his immigration status. He told investigators he learnt to make the firebombs from YouTube.

The federal authorities said Soliman was in the country illegally, having overstayed a tourist visa and an expired work permit. 

Trump administration officials immediately seized on June 1’s violence as an example of why they are cracking down on illegal immigration.

A police affidavit filed in support of Soliman’s arrest warrant said he was born in Egypt, lived in Kuwait for 17 years and moved three years ago to Colorado Springs, about 61km south of Boulder, where he lived with his wife and five children.

“In the light of yesterday’s horrific attack, all terrorists, their family members, and terrorist sympathisers here on a visa should know that under the Trump administration we will find you, revoke your visa, and deport you,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X.

The federal and local authorities said at an afternoon news conference in Boulder that Soliman had done nothing to draw law enforcement attention before the June 1 incident.

He was believed to have acted alone, they said.

According to the Boulder police affidavit, Soliman had planned for a year to carry out the attack, which unfolded at Pearl Street Mall, a popular pedestrian shopping district near the University of Colorado.

The affidavit said the suspect “threw two lit Molotov cocktails at individuals participating in the pro-Israel gathering”, yelling “Free Palestine” as they ignited in the crowd.

The victims, many of them elderly, were taking part in an event organised by Run for Their Lives, an organisation devoted to drawing attention to the hostages seized in the aftermath of

Hamas’ 2023 attack on Israel

.

Sixteen Molotov cocktails were left

The attack was the latest act of violence aimed at Jewish Americans linked to outrage over Israel’s escalating military offensive in Gaza.

It followed the

fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy aides

that took place outside Washington’s Capital Jewish Museum in May.

US Attorney-General Pam Bondi described the firebombing as an “anti-Semitic terror attack”.

The authorities said they found 16 petrol-filled Molotov cocktails near where the suspect was detained.

The police also found a petrol canister in his car parked nearby, and a weed sprayer filled with petrol at the scene.

The federal affidavit references a video posted on social media during the attack showing Soliman “shirtless, pacing back and forth while holding what appear to be Molotov cocktails”.

During a brief court appearance on June 1, Soliman appeared via a video feed from Boulder County Jail, standing and wearing an orange jumpsuit.

He answered “yes” to some procedural questions from the judge but otherwise did not speak.

Soliman’s attorney, public defender Kathryn Herold, said during the hearing that she would reserve any arguments regarding his bond conditions until a future date.

He was initially detained in lieu of a US$10 million (S$12.9 million) cash bail.

The suspect faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if found guilty on the federal hate crime charge because he also faces attempted-murder charges in state court.

The multiple counts of attempted murder are punishable by up to 384 years in prison.

Department of Homeland Security officials said Soliman had entered the US in August 2022, filed for asylum the following month, and remained in the country after his visa expired in February 2023.

“There are millions of individuals like this that we are attempting to locate from the past administration that weren’t properly screened that were allowed in,” Mr Todd Lyons, acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said during a press conference in Boston.

In a social media post, US President Donald Trump called June 1’s attack “yet another example of why we must keep our borders secure, and deport illegal, anti-American radicals from our homeland”.

Under former president Joe Biden, ICE prioritised arrests of serious criminals and called for officers to consider humanitarian factors when detaining migrants.

The authorities had identified eight victims of the firebombing by late June 1 – four women and four men, aged 52 to 88.

Two victims remained hospitalised on June 2. In addition, four more victims who were less seriously injured came forward on June 2.

Rabbi Yisroel Wilhelm, the Chabad director at the University of Colorado, told CBS Colorado that the 88-year-old victim was a Holocaust refugee who fled Europe.

The June 1 attack was not the first high-profile incident of mass violence in Boulder, a university town that attracts many young professionals and outdoor enthusiasts.

In 2021, a gunman fatally shot 10 people, including an off-duty police officer, in a local supermarket. REUTERS