Alleged anti-Semitic Colorado fire bomber faces multiple hate crime charges

Federal prosecutors charged Mohamed Sabry Soliman with 12 federal hate crime charges for his alleged anti-Semitic attack in Boulder, Colo. earlier this month, according to a Wednesday statement from the Department of Justice. Soliman allegedly yelled “free Palestine” after throwing Molotov cocktails at participants in a pro-Israel event in a park outside the Boulder County Courthouse, according to the indictment unsealed Wednedsay.

Prosecutors described Soliman carrying a backpack weed sprayer and at least 18 glass containers all filled with a flammable liquid. Several of the glass containers had rags stuffed into the top, serving as a wick for the Molotov cocktails, the DOJ noted. Witnesses described the suspect using a makeshift flamethrower and Molotov cocktails to attack an event calling for the return of hostages taken by Hamas terrorists during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack. A total of 15 people and a dog were injured in the attack, several of whom were hospitalized.

Wasn’t he already facing hate crime charges? The DOJ initially charged Soliman with one federal hate crime charge the day after the attack, but vowed to prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law. Soliman’s defense attorney, David Kraut, argued against hate crime allegations during a recent hearing. Kraut insisted that Soliman only targeted the group for their pro-Israel political beliefs and not becasue he believed the attendees to be Jewish themselves, according to a report by local news outlet WBAL-TV.

The indictment detailed how investigators later found a handwritten note in Soliman’s car that described Israel as a cancer and called for the liberation of Jerusalem. The Egyptian native later told police that he took revenge on the victims, according to the DOJ. He targeted the run after searching the internet for “any Zionist event,” according to the release. The DOJ’s Wednesday statement noted that an indictment is only an allegation and that all individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Dig deeper: Read Elizabeth Russell’s report on Soliman’s family facing deportation after the attack.