Judge allows hate crime trial to proceed for Boulder terror suspect while family fights deportation
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – New developments are unfolding in the federal hate crime case tied to an antisemitic firebombing attack earlier this month in Boulder – and the fallout is still impacting the suspect's family, who is caught in the middle.
On Wednesday, a judge ruled there is enough evidence for the trial against suspect Mohamed Soliman to move forward. The same day, his wife, Hayam El Gamal, issued her first public statements since being detained by immigration officials.
READ MORE: ‘Please listen to our story’: Wife of Boulder terror attack suspect speaks out
El Gamal, who had been living with her husband and five children in the Cimarron Hills neighborhood, says she had no knowledge of Soliman’s alleged extremist beliefs. She expressed “shock and horror” over the Boulder attack and offered condolences to the families affected.
However, El Gamal says she and her children have been “treated like animals” during their detainment at an immigration facility in Texas. The family was taken into custody just days after the attack.
Immigration attorney Ernesto Walsh of Ernesto Law Group believes the case sits at the intersection of national security, family rights and immigration law.
Walsh says the government’s ability to detain or deport family members expands significantly in terrorism-related cases.
“That is the key — is terrorism,” Walsh told KRDO. “Once you invoke the rules of terrorism, the liberty the Department of Homeland Security has is very wide. There is very little that attorneys can do because when it invokes terrorism, the priority is protecting the United States.”
El Gamal’s asylum application remains pending, and her immigration status was previously tied to her husband’s case. Walsh says DHS is likely investigating whether she knew more than she’s claiming.
“Her statement is that she had no idea that her husband had any anti-Israeli sentiment, which is a very extreme viewpoint, given the circumstances of what happened,” Walsh said.
Still, he emphasized that scrutiny in such cases is standard.
“It’s entirely appropriate for the Department of Homeland Security to do these investigations to assure that our country is safe for these types of activities,” he said.
Walsh also noted that DHS policy does not automatically penalize family members.
“DHS has announced repeatedly that they do not penalize family members for the crime of other family members, but that they needed to assure that they weren't involved.”
For now, a federal judge has temporarily blocked the deportation of El Gamal and her children, but that order could be lifted at any time.
Meanwhile, the federal case against Soliman will move forward following the judge’s ruling that prosecutors have sufficient evidence for trial.
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