Boulder, Colorado: Federal authorities have taken the family of Mohamed Sabry Soliman—an Egyptian national accused of hurling gasoline bombs at a pro-Israeli rally in Colorado—into custody, with officials confirming that deportation proceedings could be swift.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the development in a video message posted on social media, confirming that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained Soliman’s family members. According to U.S. officials, Soliman had been living in the country illegally after overstaying a tourist visa and an expired work permit.
“While Soliman will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Noem stated, “federal agents are also investigating to what extent his family knew about this horrific attack—if they had any knowledge of it or if they provided any support for it.”
ICE has not yet issued further details regarding the detention or legal status of Soliman’s family, but according to local media reports, his household includes two teenagers and three younger children. Authorities said the family has so far cooperated with investigators. Soliman told officials that he acted alone in planning and executing the attack.
The White House later posted that Soliman’s family was being held in ICE custody under “expedited removal” and noted that they “could be deported as early as tonight.”
Homeland Security officials said Soliman entered the U.S. on a tourist visa in August 2022, filed for asylum the following month, and remained in the country after his visa expired in February 2023.
The attack took place on Sunday during a rally in Boulder, Colorado, organized by Run for Their Lives, a group advocating for the release of hostages taken during Hamas’ 2023 assault on Israel. At least a dozen people were injured in the firebombing, many of them elderly.
According to both state and federal court filings, Soliman told investigators he had delayed his violent act until after his daughter’s high school graduation. He reportedly stated he wanted to “kill all Zionist people.” He has been charged with attempted murder, assault, and a federal hate crime.
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Investigators revealed that Soliman, 45, took firearms training in an attempt to secure a concealed-carry permit. However, his noncitizen status prevented him from legally purchasing firearms, prompting him to use Molotov cocktails instead—materials he told investigators he learned to make by watching YouTube videos.
A police affidavit supporting Soliman’s arrest stated that he was born in Egypt, lived in Kuwait for 17 years, and moved to Colorado Springs approximately three years ago. He lived there with his wife and five children, roughly 100 miles south of the attack site in Boulder.
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Law enforcement officials said at a press conference in Boulder that Soliman had not come under their radar before the incident and that he was believed to have acted independently.
According to an affidavit, Soliman threw two lit Molotov cocktails into the crowd at the pro-Israel event while shouting “Free Palestine.” The act is part of a worrying pattern of violence against Jewish Americans, including the fatal shooting of two Israeli Embassy aides outside Washington’s Capital Jewish Museum just last month.
