Boulder, Colorado attack: Suspect charged with federal hate crime, 16 counts of attempted murder
12 injured in Sunday afternoon attack
BOULDER, Colo. -- The man suspected of throwing Molotov cocktails in an "act of terrorism" during a pro-Israel demonstration in Boulder, Colorado, injuring 12 people, has been charged with a federal hate crime and state charges including 16 counts of attempted first-degree murder, according to court documents.
The suspect, 45-year-old Mohamed Soliman, told investigators "he researched on YouTube how to make Molotov Cocktails, purchased the ingredients to do so, and constructed them," the federal court documents said.
Soliman took a concealed carry class to learn how to fire a gun but "had to use Molotov cocktails (for the attack) after he was denied the purchase of a gun due to him not being a legal citizen," state court documents said.
Soliman, who allegedly disguised himself as a gardener during the attack, allegedly told police "he wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead," documents said. "SOLIMAN stated he would do it (conduct an attack) again."
He "said this had nothing to do with the Jewish community and was specific in the Zionist group supporting the killings of people on his land (Palestine)," the state documents said.
Soliman, a husband and father of five, allegedly said he had been planning Sunday afternoon's attack for one year but waited until his daughter graduated from high school last Thursday to carry it out, state and federal documents said.
He said no one knew about his plans and he expected to die during the attack, the documents said.
Soliman appeared at his first state court hearing virtually from jail on Monday afternoon, during which the judge kept his bond at $10 million.
He acknowledged that he had received and understood a protection order barring him from contacting the victims.
Soliman is due back in court on Thursday for the filing of state charges.
He said he drove about 100 miles from his Colorado Springs home to Boulder on Sunday and picked up gas at a gas station on the way, the documents said.
Soliman allegedly "filled 8 glass containers he purchased from Target with gas, he put them in a black storage bin and in order to get as close as possible to the group he dressed himself like a gardener," according to state court documents.
He allegedly used a "makeshift flamethrower" and threw an incendiary device into a crowd of pro-Israel demonstrators at a pedestrian mall, according to the FBI. He allegedly yelled "Free Palestine" during the attack, the FBI said.
A video posted on social media during the attack showed Soliman holding what appeared to be Molotov cocktails and saying, "How many children killed" and "end Zionist," according to the court documents.
Soliman said he "only threw two at the group because he got scared," according to court documents.
Soliman allegedly targeted the Run for Their Lives walk, which aims to raise awareness about the remaining hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and calls for their immediate release. Soliman allegedly told investigators he "specifically targeted" this group after learning about them in an online search, according to court documents.
Eight people, ranging in age from 52 to 88, were hospitalized Sunday with burns, and two of those victims remain in the hospital on Monday, police said.
Four other people who suffered minor injuries have since come forward, bringing the victim total to 12, officials said Monday.
Sixteen unused Molotov cocktails were within "arm's reach" of the suspect when he was arrested, FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek said at a news conference, and he commended the first responders who jumped in to stop the attack.
The unlit Molotov cocktails were "comprised of glass wine carafe bottles or Ball jars containing clear liquid and red rags hanging out of the bottles," documents said. Police also found a "backpack weed sprayer, potentially containing a flammable substance. The clear liquid in the glass bottles and weed sprayer were determined to be 87 octane gasoline, which was determined to contain xylene."
Soliman is in the United States illegally, according to the Department of Homeland Security. He entered the U.S. in August 2022 on a B2 visa and he filed for asylum in September 2022, according to Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security.
His B2 visa -- which is typically a tourism visa -- expired in February 2023, McLaughlin said.
Soliman was granted a work permit after his B2 visa expired, a senior official told ABC News. That work permit expired on March 28, so he has been in the country illegally since then, the official said.
He was born in Egypt and lived in Kuwait for 17 years, according to the state charging document. He moved to Colorado Springs three years ago.
Soliman has worked as a driver for Uber and his account has since been banned from the platform, the company said.
"We will never tolerate this kind of hatred," Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement Monday. "We refuse to accept a world in which Jewish Americans are targeted for who they are and what they believe."
President Donald Trump responded to the attack for the first time on Monday, writing on Truth Social that the crimes will be "prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law."
"This is yet another example of why we must keep our Borders SECURE, and deport Illegal, Anti-American Radicals from our Homeland. My heart goes out to the victims of this terrible tragedy, and the Great People of Boulder, Colorado!" the president added.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio tweeted Monday, "In light of yesterday's horrific attack, all terrorists, their family members, and terrorist sympathizers here on a visa should know that under the Trump Administration we will find you, revoke your visa, and deport you."
Former President Joe Biden said in a statement Monday that he and former first lady Jill Biden are "praying for the victims of the violent, targeted attack on the Jewish community in Boulder."
"We must stand united against Antisemitic violence and hate," he said.
The attack comes less than two weeks after two Israeli embassy staffers were shot and killed while leaving an event in Washington, D.C.
In a statement, the Simon Wiesenthal Center said, "Both attacks are the direct result of months of anti-Israel propaganda, moral equivocation, and silence in the face of raging antisemitism."
A former high-ranking federal law enforcement official and law enforcement expert, Derek Mayer, says recent rhetoric is likely what prompted the Department of Homeland Security to circulate an intelligence bulletin last week warning of attacks on large summer gatherings.
"The world is a very dangerous place, and evil exists. And, unfortunately, it's very hard to stop these lone wolf, if he is a lone wolf attacker, like the individual in Washington, D.C.," Mayer said. "There's been support for Hamas throughout the United States since October of 2023, and yes, I think that support is growing, not only in our country, but throughout the world."
ABC7 Chicago's Eric Horng and Liz Nagy contributed to this report.
