Colorado flamethrower suspect faces hate crime charges as new details emerge
Boulder, Colorado - The man suspected of a Molotov cocktail attack on Jewish protesters in Colorado was facing federal hate crime charges on Monday, with the government saying he was in the US illegally.
Mohamed Sabry Soliman is alleged to have thrown Molotov cocktails and sprayed burning gasoline in Boulder on Sunday at a gathering in support of Israeli hostages held by the Hamas armed group.
Eight people were hurt in the attack – four men and four women – with the oldest reportedly being 88 years old.
FBI agent Mark Michalek said the suspect used "a makeshift flamethrower" and "was heard to yell: 'Free Palestine,'" during the incident.
An FBI affidavit said Soliman had been planning the assault for a year.
"He stated that he wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead," the affidavit says.
"He hated this group and needed to stop them from taking over 'our land,' which he explained to be Palestine."
Agents said they had found at least 14 unused Molotov cocktails and a backpack weed sprayer containing gasoline.
Homeland Security officials said he was in the country illegally, having overstayed a tourist visa, but that he had applied for asylum in September 2022.
At least eight were injured in the Boulder attack
President Donald Trump lashed out at his predecessor, Joe Biden, over the incident.
"Yesterday's horrific attack in Boulder, Colorado, WILL NOT BE TOLERATED in the United States of America," Trump said on his Truth Social network, describing it as a "terrible tragedy."
He blamed "Biden's ridiculous Open Border Policy" for allowing Soliman into the country.
The attack occurred on Sunday afternoon during a regular demonstration in support of hostages taken in the assault on Israel by Hamas gunmen on October 7, 2023.
In one video that purportedly shows the attack, a shirtless man holding bottles in his hands is seen pacing as the grass in front of him burns.
He can be heard screaming "End Zionists!" and "They are killers!" towards several people in red T-shirts as they tend to a person lying on the ground.
Other images showed billowing black smoke.
Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn told reporters that "at least one victim was very seriously injured, probably safe to say critical condition."
The suspect was also injured before being taken into custody, Redfearn said.
Sunday's attack occurred during the Jewish holiday of Shavuot. It comes almost two weeks after the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington, where a 31-year-old suspect, who shouted "Free Palestine," was arrested.
It also comes as the death toll of Israel's ongoing assault surpasses 54,000 Palestinians – though the true number is believed to be far higher – with Gaza's entire population at risk of famine amid an Israeli aid blockade.
Cover photo: Collage: REUTERS