This post was last updated Friday, June 6
A man accused of injuring 15 pro-Israel demonstrators faces 118 charges, including 28 counts of attempted murder, for a June 1 attack in front of the Boulder County Courthouse, 1325 Pearl St., in Boulder. A preliminary hearing is set for July 15 at 1:30 p.m.
The suspect, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, is also charged with a federal hate crime, plus multiple counts of assault, attempted assault, use and attempted use of an incendiary device. One charge of animal cruelty was made for a dog that was injured in the attack.
Soliman is being held at the Boulder County Jail on a $10 million cash only bond. He faces a sentence of 672 years just for the attempted murder charges, District Attorney Michael Dougherty said at a June 5 press conference following the official filing of charges.
Local and federal officials have referred to the incident as a terrorist attack, though formal terrorism charges have not yet been filed.
“We moved swiftly to charge quickly, just to send a message to the community that no acts of anti-semitism are going to be tolerated and there are severe consequences,” J. Bishop Grewell, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado said at a June 2 press conference. “Just because there’s only one charge that has been made so far doesn’t mean that we’re not considering other charges.”
What happened
The demonstration was being held by Run For Their Lives, a global organization advocating for the release of Israeli hostages taken during the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks. The Boulder chapter of the group has been meeting weekly since late 2023.
“It was a walk just like all our others, until it wasn’t,” said a woman who spoke anonymously at the June 4 vigil at the JCC. “I heard a loud noise and the back of my legs burning... Everything feels heavy, and I see the images replay in my head all the time.”
Soliman selected the Boulder event after an online search, he told law enforcement, and dressed as a gardener carrying a box of flowers — underneath which were Molotov cocktails — “in order to get as close as possible to the group.”
Demonstrators had just stopped in front of the courthouse Sunday afternoon when Soliman reportedly launched two Molotov cocktails into the crowd. Witnesses also heard him yell, “Free Palestine,” “how many children killed” and “end Zionist,” according to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court.
Soliman told arresting officers he “wanted to kill all Zionist people” and would “do it again. … He stated that he had been planning the attack for a year and was waiting until after his daughter graduated to conduct the attack,” it reads.
Soliman told law enforcement the attack “had nothing to do with the Jewish community” but was specifically targeting “the Zionist group supporting the killings of people on his land (Palestine).”
A search of the scene revealed 16 additional Molotov cocktails — glass containers filled with gasoline and red rags — and a “backpack weed sprayer” also filled with gasoline. Soliman told officers “he did not spray the gas on anyone but himself because he had planned on dying,” according to the state arrest affidavit.
Three still hospitalized
Victims ranged from 25 to 88 years old, according to a Boulder fire-rescue spokesperson. As of Wednesday, three were still hospitalized, according to a spokesperson for UC Health University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora. Additional victims had injuries that were “more minor in nature,” Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said.
Family of suspect detained
Soliman, a resident of Colorado Springs, came to the U.S. from Egypt in 2022 seeking asylum, according to media reports. His visa expired in 2023.
On Tuesday, June 3, Soliman’s wife and five children were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted to social media platform X, “We are investigating to what extent his family knew about this heinous attack, if they had knowledge of it, or if they provided support to it.”
Soliman told law enforcement “no one knew about his plans and he never talked to his wife and family about it,” according to an arrest affidavit.
Noem’s post and official communications from the department said the suspect was in the country illegally, but Denver-based immigration attorney Bryce Downer told CPR Soliman may have been “without status” but still legally in the U.S. if his asylum case was pending.
Administration officials declined to answer questions about the status of that petition or the immigration status of Soliman’s family, according to reporting from The Colorado Sun.
On Wednesday, June 4, a district judge temporarily blocked deportation of Soliman’s family, the Associated Press reported.
DA Dougherty said making sure Soliman remains in the country "is a top priority" so that he could be prosecuted.
What’s next
Soliman appeared in court briefly on Monday, June 2 and responded to Judge Nancy Salomone’s question about a protective order barring him from contacting the victims. Charges were formally filed Thursday, June 5, at 3:30 p.m.
He will next appear in court July 15 at 1:30 p.m. at the Boulder County Justice Center, 1777 6th St. in Boulder.
Officials at a June 2 briefing said Soliman did not have any prior contacts with BPD and was not on the radar of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. Authorities said they believe Soliman was acting alone and not part of a broader network.
Suspended public participation
Boulder City Council suspended public attendance and virtual open comment at its June 5 meeting, citing past disruptions. Numerous meetings have been forced into recess by demonstrators in recent months, with council temporarily barring some members of the public from speaking at meetings.
In the 7-2 vote to suspend open comment — the only portion of the meeting where members of the public can speak on any topic of their choosing — Mayor Aaron Brockett expressed a desire for the council to "focus on the business of the city."
"Our open comment over the last year and a half has been increasingly dysfunctional and divisive and has often left community members feeling unsafe," Brockett said. "After the horrific terror attack on Sunday, I feel this is a time for us to be coming together as a community."
Council members Taishya Adams and Mark Wallach voted against the motion.
"I appreciate the intention," Adams told Brockett, thanking him for the "very considerate suggestion. ... but I want to honor that grief looks different [for every person]. Everybody should have a right to speak to us, especially now."
Increased security
In response to the attacks, the Boulder Jewish Community Center (JCC) made changes to its upcoming Jewish Festival, being held in the same location as the attack Sunday, June 8.
A post on Downtown Boulder’s social media and attributed to the JCC said, “Based on the fact that Run For Their Lives was targeted, we want to center this event in furtherance of their cause, which is to bring awareness to the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza, while making space to recognize the victims in our community.”
The post also referenced an “increased security presence.” In an email, the Colorado Therapeutic Riding Center, which has a June 7 event planned at JCC’s East Boulder campus, said “enhanced security measures” were also being implemented at that location.
“The Boulder Police Department is fully aware of all upcoming events at the JCC for the next three weeks and is working closely with the JCC to ensure a secure environment for all attendees,” the email states.
Redfearn said there would be a "very visible" police presence at the Jewish Festival, including but not limited to the use of SWAT, drones and plainclothes officers.
“We want to ensure that people feel comfortable and safe in this community, gathering and remembering what happened as well as any other planned events that we have,” he said at a June 2 press briefing.
The Boulder chapter of Run For Their Lives plans to continue their weekly event with a Sunday, June 8 walk in collaboration with the Denver chapter.
In a statement on the group’s Facebook page, organizer Rachel Amaru wrote, “We will continue to stand in solidarity with the hostages. We will continue to say their names. We will walk again.”
Of the 251 hostages taken during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas, 58 are still being held, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Some 1,195 Israelis were killed. Israel’s subsequent military action has killed 54,084 Palestinians as of May 28.
This story has been updated to correct the spelling of the suspect's name, which is misspelled in the federal arrest affidavit, and with additional information. This is a developing story and may be updated with additional information. It was last updated Friday, June 6.