Latest news with #BoulderAttack
CTV News
2 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Judge says hate crime prosecution in Boulder, Colorado, attack can proceed
From left, Lisa Turnquist and Carrie Spyva-McIlvaine place a bouquet of flowers at a growing memorial outside of the Boulder County, Colo., courthouse after Sunday's attack Monday, June 2, 2025, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) DENVER — A federal judge said Wednesday that prosecutors can proceed with a hate crime charge against a man accused of hurling Molotov cocktails at a group of people demonstrating in Boulder, Colorado, in support of Israeli hostages. Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, appeared in federal court in Denver for a preliminary hearing following the June 1 attack in Boulder that injured at least eight people. Investigators say he planned the attack for a year and was driven by a desire 'to kill all Zionist people.' Soliman's defense attorney, David Kraut, urged Magistrate Judge Kathryn Starnella not to allow the case to move forward. Kraut said Soliman's anti-Zionist statements and his online search for a 'Zionist' event to attack showed he targeted the demonstrators because of their perceived political views — their assumed support for the nation of Israel and the political movement of Zionism. An attack motivated by someone's political views is not considered a hate crime under federal law. Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Hindman said the government alleged that the attack was a hate crime because Soliman targeted people based on their national origin — their perceived connection to Israel. Prosecutors are not alleging that Soliman targeted demonstrators, who carried Israeli and American flags, because he believed they were Jewish, noting that he has said that not all Jewish people are Zionists. Starnella acknowledged that some of the evidence undercut the government's allegation that the demonstrators were targeted because of their perceived national origin but said other evidence supported it. At this stage, the government gets the benefit of the doubt on questions about evidence, she said. Investigators say Soliman told them he had intended to kill the roughly 20 participants at the weekly demonstration on Boulder's Pearl Street pedestrian mall, but he threw just two of his over two dozen Molotov cocktails while yelling 'Free Palestine.' Soliman told investigators he tried to buy a gun but was not able to because he was not a 'legal citizen.' Federal authorities say Soliman, an Egyptian national, has been living in the U.S. illegally with his family. During his Wednesday appearance, Soliman's lower right arm and hand were wrapped in a thick bandage, with handcuffs around his wrists. Police previously said he was taken to a hospital for unspecified injuries right after the attack. FBI agent Timothy Chan testified at Wednesday's hearing that Soliman burned himself as he threw the second Molotov cocktail. Soliman did not carry out his full plan 'because he got scared and had never hurt anyone before,' police wrote in an arrest affidavit. At least eight people were injured. Authorities consider 15 people and a dog as victims of the attack at the downtown Pearl Street pedestrian mall. One is a Holocaust survivor. Some are considered victims because they could have been hurt. Soliman is charged separately in state court with multiple counts of attempted murder, assault and offenses related to more than a dozen additional Molotov cocktails police say he did not use. Run for Their Lives, the group targeted in the attack, started in October 2023 after Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip stormed into Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage. Federal authorities are seeking to deport Soliman's wife and their five children. They range in age from 4 to 18 years old and are being held in an immigration center in Texas, according to court documents. The White House said in a June 3 social media post that one-way tickets had been purchased for the family members, adding: 'Final boarding call coming soon.' A Colorado federal judge temporarily blocked their deportation with a restraining order on June 4. The case has since been transferred to Texas, where a federal judge on Wednesday extended the restraining order another two weeks. Lawyers for the family had asked to keep the order in place, even though government lawyers said in court documents that the family would be deported under the normal process, not an expedited one because the lawyers did not address the earlier comments from the White House. Colleen Slevin, The Associated Press
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Yahoo
Tourist details newly obtained video of Boulder attack showing people on fire
BOULDER, Colo. (KDVR) — Mass confusion is how the man who recorded a video of the Boulder attack is describing Sunday's incident at the Pearl Street Mall. Alex Osante, a tourist, was visiting from San Diego when the situation unfolded. Witnesses describe 'terrifying' scene of attack at Pearl Street Mall in Boulder In the video, you can see the firebombs being thrown and people running around trying to get water and medical aid. Osante said the whole situation lasted about seven minutes before police arrived on scene. 'I came on vacation for one week to Aspen,' he said. 'After one week, I wanted to see Vail, Breckenridge, and then come to Boulder for one day.' On that Sunday afternoon, chaos ensued. 'I definitely didn't know anything about the walk or what was going on there. I was just having lunch across the street at an Italian restaurant,' Osante said. In the middle of his lunch, he heard a loud boom, and heard frantic screaming. 'When I turned over to look at what was going on, there were people just running around tripping and they were falling,' he said. 'It was hard to understand what was going on. There was a lot of confusion. There were five people that were on fire … who were burning.' Alex said he witnessed victims burning from head to toe. He, along with bystanders, helped provide water to those in distress. 'People from all different backgrounds, ethnicities, and nationalities, as soon as this started happening, we all came together as a big group to find out a solution,' said Osante. Shortly after, he recorded the video so he could dissect what happened later. 'Thankfully, I started recording when I did, so we can capture what was happening there,' Osante said. 'Because I'm the only person who has the video from the beginning to the end showing what really happened, I was able to, after the fact, go back to the video and dissect it to see what really happened. So, when I go back and look at it, I see the man came out of the trees in the bushes a second time with the Molotov cocktails in his hand. He threw it at a lady and when he threw it at the lady, he lit himself on fire. When he lit himself on fire, he went up in flames.' Man helps pour water on victims in Boulder terror attack At the time, he didn't know the suspect was the one responsible for the tragedy. 'It was like, 'Why is this guy on fire?' He must not be one of the — he must not be the person causing this because he is on fire,' said Osante. 'He took off his vest and his shirt and was standing there holding two bottles. We didn't know what the bottles were, but they kind of looked like the bottles of water I was giving to the victims.' He says it's still hard to grasp what unfolded. 'I've been to 87 countries on vacation and all around the world, and never have I seen anything this crazy and this wild where people are on fire,' said Osante. 'I never expected anything like this to happen and it was a complete shock.' Osante said it was devastating to learn the cause of the tragedy. 'Let's make terrorism not great again,' he said. 'When I learned what was actually going on with the political agendas, all of the information we didn't understand at first, it magnified the amplitude and the chaotic experience we all went through. This is going on all over the world. People fighting against each other, happening all around the world, and it needs to stop.' This Sunday at noon, there will be a gathering for Boulder's weekly run for their lives walk as well as the annual Boulder Jewish Festival. In light of the tragedy, security is being coordinated with Boulder police and Colorado State Patrol. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Yahoo
Family on Pearl Street during terror attack returns 1 week later for Boulder Jewish Festival
BOULDER (KDVR) — Pearl Street in Boulder was filled Sunday afternoon after thousands of people came to show support for the Jewish community following the terrorist attack last weekend. 'It's really meaningful to have people come and support our community,' Rachel Cohen, who was walking with the Run for Their Lives group during the fire-bombing attack last Sunday. The group walks to raise awareness and call for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza. FBI warns of threat to Israeli, Jewish communities after Boulder attack, others Cohen shared her story and explained the moment her gut instinct told her something was wrong. 'As we came up to the courthouse, I noticed some people who seemed questionable,' Cohen said, 'particularly the man who was doing the work or pretending to do the work, we now know he was there to harm us.' Cohen, alongside her kids, said the walking group had stopped, and then in a matter of moments, the attack started to unfold. 'Then we heard a crack. My daughter, my seven-year-old, describes it as a window crash, then there was a smell of petrol,' Cohen explained. 'I turned and saw fire, and I immediately moved as fast as I could and pushed my children out of the way.' Cohen told us she has participated in at least 40 or more of the 'Walk for their Lives' walks. She said Sunday's walk, when the attack happened, was actually very peaceful. Mother, 2 kids speak out after son in wheelchair aids in Boulder attack aftermath 'It was actually the first week we didn't have anyone heckling us, we had lots of people supporting us and thumbs up,' Cohen said. 'It was really nice; it felt like a great day, good weather and a good walk.' She said that after she got her kids to safety, she called 911 and ran back to the chaos to help others in the attack. 'It might have been chaos, but everyone in our group did everything they could to make it work,' Cohen said. 'Make sure that everyone was cared for and protected, however we needed to do it.' Back on Pearl Street, in a large crowd just seven days later, Cohen told us she definitely felt all the emotions. 'It makes me know that the possible sacrifice that could have happened last week with my kids, that it's not for nothing, and we walk every week,' Cohen said. Tourist details newly obtained video of Boulder attack showing people on fire She also wanted to thank not only the Boulder Jewish community but for everyone who attended the festival on Sunday, showing their support. 'Having people stand with us, it shows them we are not fearful,' Cohen said. Alongside her family, they walked with hundreds on Pearl Street once again at the Boulder Jewish Festival and she said they will continue to go forward. 'Being a walker with Run for their Lives is to remind people that we are out here peacefully wanting these hostages to be released,' Cohen said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Free Malaysia Today
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Man attacks Colorado crowd with firebombs, 6 people injured
Law enforcement and bomb disposal units investigate an attack on an Israeli hostage demonstration in Boulder, Colorado. (AP pic) BOULDER : Six people were injured on Sunday when a 45-year-old man yelled 'Free Palestine' and threw incendiary devices into a crowd in Boulder, Colorado where a demonstration to remember the Israeli hostages who remain in Gaza was taking place, authorities said. Six victims aged between 67 and 88 years old were transported to hospitals, the FBI special agent in charge of the Denver Field Office, Mark Michalek, said. At least one of them was in a critical condition, authorities said. 'As a result of these preliminary facts, it is clear that this is a targeted act of violence and the FBI is investigating this as an act of terrorism,' Michalek said. Michalek named the suspect as Mohamed Soliman, who was hospitalised shortly after the attack. Reuters could not immediately locate contact information for him or his family. FBI director Kash Patel also described the incident as a 'targeted terror attack,' and Colorado attorney general Phil Weiser said it appeared to be 'a hate crime given the group that was targeted.' Boulder police chief Stephen Redfearn said he did not believe anyone else was involved. 'We're fairly confident we have the lone suspect in custody,' he said. The attack took place on the Pearl Street Mall, a popular pedestrian shopping district in the shadow of the University of Colorado, during an event organised by Run for Their Lives, an organisation devoted to drawing attention to the hostages seized in the aftermath of Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel. In a statement, the group said the walks have been held every week since then for the hostages, 'without any violent incidents until today.' The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the US over Israel's war in Gaza, which has spurred both an increase in antisemitic hate crime as well as moves by conservative supporters of Israel led by President Donald Trump to brand pro-Palestinian protests as antisemitic. His administration has detained protesters of the war without charge and cut off funding to elite US universities that have permitted such demonstrations. In a post to X, a social network, Trump's deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said Soliman had overstayed his visa and been allowed to work by the previous administration. He said it was further evidence of the need to 'fully reverse' what he described as 'suicidal migration.' Reuters was not able to independently verify the suspect's immigration status. When asked about Soliman, the department of homeland Security said more information would be provided as it became available. Victims burned Brooke Coffman, a 19-year-old at the University of Colorado who witnessed the Boulder incident, said she saw four women lying or sitting on the ground with burns on their legs. One of them appeared to have been badly burned on most of her body and had been wrapped in a flag by someone, she said. She described seeing a man whom she presumed to be the attacker standing in the courtyard shirtless, holding a glass bottle of clear liquid and shouting. 'Everybody is yelling, 'get water, get water,'' Coffman said. Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer, a prominent Jewish Democrat, said it was an antisemitic attack. 'This is horrifying, and this cannot continue. We must stand up to antisemitism,' he said on X. The attack follows last month's arrest of a Chicago-born man in the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy employees in Washington, DC. Someone opened fire on a group of people leaving an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee, an advocacy group that fights antisemitism and supports Israel. The shooting fuelled polarisation in the US over the war in Gaza between supporters of Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators. Colorado governor Jared Polis posted on social media that it was 'unfathomable that the Jewish community is facing another terror attack here in Boulder.'
CNN
06-06-2025
- CNN
Colorado antisemitic attack suspect to appear in federal court on Friday amid widespread fear over antisemitic attacks
The Egyptian man accused of carrying out an antisemitic attack in Boulder, Colorado, is set to appear in federal court on Friday – a day after he was charged with 28 counts of attempted murder in connection to a firebombing that has sparked widespread fear across the Jewish community. Mohamed Soliman, 45, allegedly used a makeshift flamethrower and Molotov cocktails to set people on fire during a downtown event held in support of Israeli hostages in Gaza. The attack occurred on the eve of Shavuot, a Jewish holiday, and less than two weeks after a separate antisemitic attack in Washington, DC, where two Israeli Embassy staff members were shot dead. In a Public Service Announcement Thursday, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security highlighted 'potential public safety concerns related to ongoing threats to Jewish and Israeli communities.' Soliman faces a federal hate crime charge in connection with the Boulder attack, an affidavit shows. He faces life in prison if convicted of the federal charge, acting United States Attorney for the District of Colorado J. Bishop Grewell said Monday. On Thursday, Soliman appeared in court from a room in the Boulder County Jail before Colorado District Judge Nancy Salomone to face state charges. Wearing an orange zip-up jacket, Soliman nodded in response to the judge's questions. He faces 118 counts, including 28 counts of first-degree attempted murder, according to court documents filed in the Boulder District Court. Soliman also faces counts of felony assault, incendiary device charges, along with one count of animal cruelty, the document shows. CNN has reached out to his attorney for comment. A total of 62 of those counts relate to the victims. If convicted, Soliman could face up to 48 years in prison for each victim, said Michael Dougherty, the district attorney for Colorado's 20th Judicial District. The attack injured at least 15 people – including a Holocaust survivor – as well as a dog. The victims included eight women and seven men between the ages of 25 and 88, according to the FBI, with several suffering severe burns. Three victims remained hospitalized as of Thursday, Dougherty said. He is due in court for a preliminary hearing on his state charges on July 15. During the attack, Soliman reportedly yelled 'Free Palestine,' according to the FBI and later told authorities that 'he wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead,' an affidavit said. Authorities are investigating whether Soliman has any underlying mental health issues, a source familiar with the investigation previously told CNN. Investigators are also examining a notebook left behind by Soliman, which includes a manifesto written in English with some lines in Arabic, according to a law enforcement source. Police recovered the notebook after Soliman directed them to its location. Investigators are also reviewing videos Soliman recorded on his phone, featuring him speaking in both English and Arabic, the source said. One such video, which has surfaced on social media, appears to show Soliman speaking in Arabic while driving. CNN has not independently confirmed the video's authenticity. The attack is one of multiple recent incidents that has increased fear among the Jewish community in the US. 'The ongoing Israel-HAMAS conflict may motivate other violent extremists and hate crime perpetrators with similar grievances to conduct violence against Jewish and Israeli communities and their supporters,' the FBI and DHS warned in their public service announcement. 'Foreign terrorist organizations also may try to exploit narratives related to the conflict to inspire attacks in the United States,' the announcement said. The agencies urged the public to remain vigilant and report any threats of violence or suspicious activity to law enforcement. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, Boulder Mayor Aaron Brockett and interfaith leaders gathered Wednesday to denounce the attack and call for unity, according to a news release. 'Violence in any form has no place in Colorado, and we know that to move forward we must join together in our common humanity to ensure peace in our communities, take care of one another, and emerge stronger,' Polis said in a statement. CNN's Danya Gainor, Cindy Von Quednow, Evan Perez, Alisha Ebrahimji and Jeremy Harlan contributed to this report.
