US immigration authorities detain family of man charged in Colorado Molotov cocktail attack

BOULDER Colo AP The wife and five children of the man accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at demonstrators in Boulder calling for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza injuring of them were being taken into custody by federal immigration officials Tuesday representatives explained Mohamed Sabry Soliman who was disguised as a gardener had Molotov cocktails and had planned to kill all the demonstrators but apparently had second thoughts throwing just two during Sunday s attack in which he yelled Free Palestine police noted Soliman 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 did throw at the group of about people staging their weekly demonstration were enough to injure more than half of them and agents stated he expressed no regrets about the attack Federal agents are assessing whether Soliman s family knew about his plan U S Secretary of Homeland Prevention Kristi Noem commented in a post on X Soliman an Egyptian national who is in the U S illegally according to federal officers explained officers that no one including his family knew about his plans according to court documents He planned the attack for more than a year and specifically targeted what he described as a Zionist group officers declared in court papers charging him with a federal hate crime His name is first spelled Mohammed in particular court documents When he was interviewed about the attack he commented he required them all to die he had no regrets and he would go back and do it again Colorado s acting U S attorney J Bishop Grewell disclosed during a news conference Monday Federal and state prosecutors filed separate criminal cases against Soliman charging him with a hate crime and attempted murder respectively He faces additional state charges related to the incendiary devices and more charges are realizable in federal court where the Justice Department will seek a grand jury indictment Soliman is being held on a million bond His attorney Kathryn Herold declined to comment Monday after a hearing where he appeared before a state judge His next hearing is Thursday Soliman has been living in the U S illegally having entered the country in August on a B- visa that expired in February Department of Homeland Protection Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin reported in a post on X She announced Soliman filed for asylum in September and was granted a work authorization in March but that it also expired DHS did not respond to requests for additional information According to an FBI affidavit Soliman left an iPhone hidden in a desk drawer at his Colorado Springs home that contained messages to his family After his arrest his wife brought the phone to the local police department saying it was his but was also used by other members of the family According to the affidavit Soliman also reported the 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 The attack at the popular Pearl Street pedestrian mall in downtown Boulder 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 casualties hospitalized The casualties ranged in age from to and their injuries spanned from serious to minor officers commented Six casualties were initially taken to a hospital and three remained hospitalized Tuesday at the UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital on the CU Anschutz Healthcare Campus hospital spokesperson Kelli Christensen disclosed She declined to provide information on their conditions and reported they had requested privacy Members of the volunteer group called Run For Their Lives were attacked while holding their weekly demonstration Video captured by witness Alex Osante of San Diego shows people pouring water on a woman lying on the ground who Osante commented had caught fire during the attack Molotov cocktails unveiled Osante noted that after the assailant threw the two incendiary devices apparently catching himself on fire as he threw the second he took off his shirt and what appeared to be a bulletproof vest before police arrived The man dropped to the ground and was arrested without any apparent resistance in the video Osante filmed The Molotov cocktails were made up of glass wine carafe bottles or jars with clear liquid and red rags hanging out of the them the FBI disclosed He stated that he had been planning the attack for a year and was waiting until after his daughter graduated to conduct the attack the affidavit says He had gas in a backpack sprayer but communicated investigators he didn t spray it on anyone but himself because he had planned on dying Soliman also communicated 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 Officers declared they believe Soliman acted alone He was also injured and taken to a hospital Personnel did not elaborate on the nature of his injuries but a booking photo established him with a large bandage over one ear Soliman who was born in Egypt moved three years ago to Colorado Springs where he lived with his wife and five children according to court documents He previously spent years living in Kuwait