FOX21 News will live stream a press conference set to begin at 2:30 p.m. on Monday at the top of this article. Officials from the Boulder Police Department, DOJ, FBI, and the Boulder District Attorney’s Office are expected to speak regarding the charges against Mohamed Soliman.
(NATIONAL) — The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it has filed federal charges against Mohamed Sabry Soliman, the suspect in the Pearl Street attack in Boulder on Sunday, June 1.
According to officials, Soliman is in the U.S. illegally. He was arrested for what the DOJ called an anti-Semitic terrorist attack that injured eight when he allegedly threw two lit Molotov cocktails into a group of people participating in a pro-Israel gathering, igniting the crowd. Soliman is alleged to have yelled “Free Palestine!” during the attack.
He is now being charged by the DOJ with a federal hate crime involving actual or perceived race, religion, or national origin.
“The Department of Justice has swiftly charged the illegal alien perpetrator of this heinous attack with a federal hate crime and will hold him accountable to the fullest extent of the law. Our prayers are with the victims and our Jewish community across the world,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi in a statement. “This vile anti-Semitic violence comes just weeks after the horrific murder of two young Jewish Americans in Washington, DC. We will never tolerate this kind of hatred. We refuse to accept a world in which Jewish Americans are targeted for who they are and what they believe.”
According to the federal complaint, when Soliman was detained by local law enforcement, a black plastic container was found with at least 14 unlit Molotov cocktails inside. The Molotov cocktails were made of wine bottles or Ball jars with red rags hanging out of the bottles, containing what was later discovered to be 87 octane gasoline. A backpack weed sprayer filled with gasoline was also found nearby.
The federal complaint stated that after Soliman was arrested, he was questioned by local and federal law enforcement. During the interview, he said that he had researched how to make Molotov cocktails on YouTube, purchased the ingredients, and created them. He allegedly stated that he “wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead.” According to the document, he said he would do it again.
Soliman allegedly stated that he specifically targeted this group, having learned of the meeting online and traveled from his home in Colorado Springs, which he shares with his wife and five kids, to conduct the attack. He allegedly stated during the interview that he hated the Zionist group and needed to “stop them from taking over ‘our land,'” which he explained to be Palestine, according to the federal complaint.
The document detailed that during the interview, Soliman stated he had been planning the attack for a year and was waiting until after his daughter graduated before carrying it out. He also stated that he had left messages to his family on his iPhone at his house in Colorado Springs.
According to the document, after his arrest, Soliman’s wife went to the Colorado Springs Police Department, bringing an iPhone 14 that she identified as belonging to Soliman.
A video was found on social media depicting a shirtless man, identified as Soliman, pacing back and forth, while holding “what appear to be Molotov cocktails,” according to the federal complaint. The video allegedly shows him saying, “how many children killed,” then a few moments later, “end Zionist.”
The federal complaint states that, based on the information presented in the document, there is probable cause to believe that Soliman violated federal laws against hate crimes, prompting the DOJ to file federal charges against him.
“No American should experience violence motivated by hatred based on their faith or national origin, and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice will act swiftly and decisively to bring the perpetrators of such crimes to justice,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon in a statement. “There can be zero tolerance for such acts in our great nation.”
According to court documents, Soliman is scheduled for a Hearing on Advisement on Monday, June 2, where Colorado state charges are expected to be read in Boulder County Court. FOX21 News will update this article once we know more. Soliman is being held on a $10,000,000 bond.
