ICE re-detains and then releases immigrant family of Colorado firebomb attack suspect

Denver, Colorado - US immigration agents on Saturday detained the family of an Egyptian man accused of firebombing a Jewish protest, days after their release from nearly 10 months in custody, their lawyer said.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement reportedly re-detained the family of a man accused of a June 2025 attack in Colorado before being forced to release them again.   © JIM WATSON / POOL / AFP

"THE EL GAMAL FAMILY WAS REDETAINED BY ICE MOMENTS AGO," attorney Eric Lee posted Saturday on X, referring to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"ICE SAYS DEPORTATION IS IMMINENT," Lee added.

Later Saturday, US District Judge Fred Biery ordered a stay of removal, meaning the family can remain in the country while it petitions the justice system.

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"A federal judge has ordered the El Gamal family's removal to stop. We are working on getting them back home," Chris Godshall-Bennett, another lawyer to the family, posted on X.

Lee said in a separate post that ICE had released the family.

" What took place today can only be described as an extraordinary rendition. 5 kids/mom kidnapped by feds in violation of multiple court orders as punishment for crimes committed by someone else," the attorney wrote.

"A dark moment in US history. Mobilize now."

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Family insists Boulder suspect acted alone

An aerial photo shows the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley on January 28, 2026.   © MOISES ÁVILA / AFP

Hayam El Gamal and her five children, aged between five and 18 years old, had been released on Thursday from an immigrant family detention center in Dilley, Texas, following a court order.

El Gamal's ex-husband, Mohammed Sabry Soliman, faces federal charges over a June 2025 attack on a group rallying in support of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

Soliman allegedly targeted the protest in Boulder, Colorado, with Molotov cocktails and an improvised flamethrower.

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Fifteen people were wounded in the attack, and one of them subsequently died.

The Trump administration had justified the months-long detention of Soliman's family on the grounds they may have had prior knowledge of his intentions.

However, he and El Gamal, who were divorced after Soliman's arrest, have maintained that he acted alone.

Biery on Thursday endorsed a recommendation by a magistrate judge to release the family and dismissed the government's objections that they posed a danger or a flight risk.

Biery conditioned the release of El Gamal and her adult daughter Habiba Soliman on wearing electronic monitoring devices.