Colorado suspect planned attack for a year, wanted to ‘kill all Zionist people’ — FBI
Alleged firebomber, held on $10 million bond, is Egyptian national in US illegally; leader of hostage rally that was attacked says he ‘saw flames all over’ woman who was most severely wounded
Luke Tress is The Times of Israel's New York correspondent.
The suspect who allegedly attacked a group of pro-hostage demonstrators in Boulder, Colorado, planned the attack for a year and wanted to kill “all Zionist people,” according to an affidavit filed in a federal court in Colorado on Monday.
The suspect, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, is charged with attacking the rally on Sunday with a homemade flamethrower and Molotov cocktails, wounding 12. He was arrested at the scene of the attack.
Police said Sunday night that one of the victims was in critical condition, and two suffered burn injuries severe enough that they were airlifted to a Denver hospital for treatment.
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 possible in federal court, where the Justice Department will seek a grand jury indictment.
During a state court hearing Monday, Soliman appeared briefly via a video link from the Boulder County Jail wearing an orange jumpsuit. Another court hearing is set for Thursday. Soliman is being held on a $10 million, cash-only bond, prosecutors said.
Soliman faces life in prison if convicted, Acting US Attorney J. Bishop Grewell said at a press conference announcing the hate crime charge.
An affidavit filed by an FBI agent in the US District Court of Colorado, was based on Soliman’s interview with law enforcement after the arrest.
The agent said Soliman threw two lit Molotov cocktails into the hostage rally while shouting “Free Palestine.” The firebombs ignited in the crowd, causing burn injuries to eight of the participants.
After he was arrested, a black plastic container with a yellow lid was found nearby. Inside were at least fourteen unlit Molotov cocktails made of glass wine bottles or Ball jars with gasoline inside and red rags hanging out of the top.
Also nearby was a “backpack weed sprayer” loaded with gasoline. Authorities have said Soliman used a “makeshift flamethrower” during the attack.
Law enforcement found a silver Toyota Prius parked a few blocks away that was registered to Soliman. Inside were a red gas container and papers with the words “Israel,” “Palestine,” and “USAID,” the affidavit said.
Soliman told law enforcement he researched how to make Molotov cocktails on YouTube. He assembled the firebombs and bought gas at a gas station on his way to Boulder. He lived in Colorado Springs, Colorado, about two hours away, with his wife and five children. He was in the US illegally, according to the US Department of Homeland Security.
“He stated that he wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead,” the affidavit said, adding that Soliman vowed to “do it again.”
He targeted the hostage rally after learning about the group in an online search and saw that the group was planning to meet at 1 p.m. He arrived at the scene at 12:55 p.m. and waited for the demonstrators.
“Soliman stated that he hated the Zionist group and did this because he hated this group and needed to stop them from taking over ‘our land,’ which he explained to be Palestine,” the affidavit said. “He stated that he had been planning the attack for a year and was waiting until after his daughter graduated to conduct the attack.”
Soliman said he left an iPhone with messages to his family hidden in a desk drawer at his home. His wife turned an iPhone over to the police.
The affidavit confirmed that Soliman is the individual seen in the video from the scene of the attack. Video also showed him shouting, “End Zionists.”
The suspect is heard here saying twice "End Zionists" pic.twitter.com/ATNlXkKyM0
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) June 1, 2025
Soliman participated in a brief court hearing Monday afternoon via video from the Boulder County jail.
He is charged federally with commission of a hate crime, which carries a sentence of life in prison when the charge includes attempted murder. Colorado state charges include 16 counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of using an incendiary device and 16 counts of attempted use of an incendiary device.
According to US Attorney Grewell, Soliman attempted to buy a firearm to carry out the attack, but resorted to homemade incendiary devices when he could not acquire a firearm because he is not a US citizen.
Police released a mugshot of the suspect, who had a bandaged ear and bruising on his face.
In response to several questions received overnight regarding the Pearl Street attack, we are sharing the following:
*No victims have died
*The suspect’s mugshot is seen here and his date of birth is Dec. 15, 1979.
*The next press conference will be later today and details will… pic.twitter.com/valMiZFbsm— Boulder Police Dept. (@boulderpolice) June 2, 2025
Witness Alex Osante of San Diego, who was across the pedestrian mall, said after the initial attack, the suspect went behind some bushes and then reemerged and threw a Molotov cocktail but apparently accidentally caught himself on fire as he threw it.
The man then took off his shirt and what appeared to be a bulletproof vest before the police arrived. The man dropped to the ground and was arrested without any apparent resistance in a video Osante filmed.
Authorities initially said eight people between the ages of 52 and 88 were injured, but later raised the tally to 12 after four others with minor injuries came forward.
‘I saw flames all over her’
Omer Shachar, a co-leader of the rally, said the 88-year-old was the worst injured.
“I saw flames all over her, top to bottom,” Shachar told The Times of Israel, adding that her husband was also badly wounded. Shachar added that children were in the crowd, and confirmed that another injured woman was a Holocaust survivor. He declined to share the victims’ names due to privacy concerns.
“We were doing our usual walk, very peaceful, quiet walk, just with flags and the posters of the hostages,” Shachar said.
As the group approached Boulder’s courthouse, “This guy threw Molotov cocktails at us and many of us got injured, got burns.”
He vowed to keep marching “until the last hostage will come back.”
“People here are so committed to the cause,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s snow, if it’s rain, if it’s hot. It’s so important to them.”
Expired visa
Soliman was in the country illegally, said Assistant Secretary for Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin. He entered the US in August 2022 on a B2 visa, a nonimmigrant visa that allows foreign nationals to visit for purposes including tourism, family visits, and medical treatment.
Soliman filed for asylum in September 2022 and his B2 visa expired in February 2023, McLaughlin told The Times of Israel. He stayed in the country illegally.
There were no details on what happened to Soliman’s asylum request.
The rally was held by a group called Run for Their Lives. The group holds regular marches throughout the US to raise awareness for the plight of the hostages.
Witnesses told investigators that Soliman attacked the demonstrators with a “makeshift flamethrower” and threw an incendiary device, FBI Special Agent Mark Michalek said at a press conference on Sunday. Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn said the suspect hurled Molotov cocktails at the demonstrators.
“It is clear that this is a targeted act of violence, and the FBI is investigating this as an act of terrorism,” Michalek said.
Shachar said the flamethrower had ignited when Soliman tried to use the device, so he removed the weapon and his shirt.
The incident in Boulder took place less than two weeks after an attacker gunned down two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, DC. The alleged shooter shouted “Free Palestine” and “I did it for Gaza” after the killings, according to authorities.
After that attack, Jewish security officials warned that the murders could inspire copycat attacks against other Israeli or Jewish targets in the US.
The attacks come after a series of thwarted terror attempts against Jewish and Israeli targets around the US in the past year.
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