Federal authorities disclosed on Monday that the suspect behind the fire attack on demonstrators in Boulder, Colorado, has admitted to planning the assault for a full year, opting to execute it only after his daughter graduated from school.
The announcement came as prosecutors filed hate crime charges against Mohamed Sabry Soliman for the attack that occurred on Sunday.
An affidavit accompanying the charge suggests there is sufficient evidence to believe that Soliman used a makeshift flamethrower against the demonstrators, who were advocating for the release of hostages held by Hamas, a Palestinian militant group.
At 45 years old, Soliman is scheduled to appear in Boulder court on Monday afternoon to address state charges stemming from the incident, which resulted in eight individuals being hospitalized with various burns and injuries.
The married father of five remains detained with a bail set at $10 million.
In addition to state charges, he faces hate crime accusations in U.S. District Court in Colorado, attributed to his actions based on the perceived race, religion, or national origin of the individuals targeted.
Prosecutors are expected to request that a federal judge deny Soliman bail in the federal case.
Following his arrest, law enforcement discovered a black plastic container with a yellow top near his location. Inside that container were at least fourteen unlit Molotov cocktails constructed from glass bottles filled with clear liquid and red rags protruding from the tops, the affidavit states.
The liquid inside these bottles, along with a nearby backpack sprayer, was identified as 87 octane gasoline, as noted by the investigating agent.
A search of Soliman’s 2015 Toyota Prius uncovered a red gas container, along with paperwork containing the words “Israel,” “Palestine,” and “USAID,” the latter being the acronym for the U.S. Agency for International Development, the affidavit reports.
Upon his arrest, officials conducted a Mirandized interview. During this questioning, Soliman reportedly shared that he had researched the construction of Molotov cocktails on YouTube, purchased the necessary ingredients, and assembled them.
He admitted to driving to Boulder with the cocktails and targeting attendees of a pro-Israel gathering, detailing that he had procured gas at a service station on his way to the city. Soliman also expressed intentions to kill all “Zionist people” and that he wished they were dead.
He stated his desire to carry out additional attacks and had specifically targeted the “Zionist Group” at the Boulder event after learning about it online.
Throughout the interview, Soliman expressed his animosity toward the group, claiming his actions were driven by a need to prevent them from overtaking “our land,” defined by him as Palestine. He confirmed that he had been planning this attack for a year, waiting until after his daughter graduated to act.
Just before the federal hate crime charges were announced, former President Donald Trump condemned the assault, attributing the assailant’s entry into the country to policies implemented by President Joe Biden.
“Yesterday’s horrific attack in Boulder, Colorado, WILL NOT BE TOLERATED in the United States of America,” Trump stated in a social media post.
“He came in through Biden’s ridiculous Open Border Policy, which has hurt our Country so badly,” Trump claimed. “He must go out under ‘TRUMP’ policy. Acts of Terrorism will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law.”
Trump further emphasized the need for secure borders and the deportation of individuals he deemed Anti-American radicals, expressing his sympathy for the victims and the residents of Boulder. According to the White House, Soliman was living in the U.S. illegally due to an expired work permit.
