Suspect in anti-Zionist molotov attack to appear in federal court on hate crime charge

The man who tossed Molotov cocktails at protesters bringing attention to Israeli captives, telling police that his motivation was to “kill all Zionist people,” is scheduled to appear in federal court for the first time on Friday to face a hate crime charge.

Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, is accused in Sunday’s attack on the weekly event in Boulder, which investigators say he planned for a year. The federal case is being adjudicated in Denver, but Soliman was also charged in state court in Boulder Thursday with attempted murder and assault counts as well as counts related to the 18 Molotov cocktails police say he carried to the demonstration.

Soliman, an Egyptian native, has been unlawfully residing in the United States, according to federal investigators.

Soliman is represented by state and federal public defenders, who do not comment on their cases to the media.

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Investigators say Soliman told them he had intended to kill all of the roughly 20 participants at the weekly demonstration on Boulder’s popular Pearl Street pedestrian mall, but he threw just two of his 18 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.”

Soliman did not carry out his full plan “because he got scared and had never hurt anyone before,” police wrote in an arrest affidavit.

State prosecutors say 15 people and a dog were victims of the attack. Not all were physically injured, and some are considered victims for the legal case because they were in the area and could potentially have been hurt, 20th Judicial District Michael Dougherty said Thursday.

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The dog was among the injured, which resulted in an animal cruelty charge being filed against Soliman, Dougherty said.

Three victims remained in the hospital Friday, U C Health University of Colorado Hospital spokesperson Dan Weaver said.

Soliman told investigators that he waited until after his daughter graduated from school before launching the attack, according to court documents.

Federal authorities want to deport Soliman’s wife and their five children, who range from 4 to 17 years old, but a judge issued an order Wednesday halting deportation proceeding until a lawsuit challenging their deportation can be considered.

U.S. immigration officials took Soliman’s wife and children into custody on Tuesday. They are being held at a family immigration detention center in Texas.