Indictment: Boulder terror attack suspect now faces 12 federal hate crime charges
BOULDER, Colo. (KRDO) – The 45-year-old man accused of setting people on fire in an antisemitic attack in Boulder earlier this month has been charged with 12 hate crime counts, according to an indictment unsealed in Denver on Wednesday.
Mohamed Soliman was previously charged in federal court on June 2 with a hate crime offense, but the new indictment includes additional charges. He now faces nine counts of hate crimes, two counts of using fire or an explosive to commit a felony, and one count of carrying an explosive while committing a felony.
Soliman is accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at a crowd of people gathered on Boulder's Pearl Street on June 1 for a demonstration in support of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Soliman's criminal complaint alleges he yelled "Free Palestine" during the attack.
Authorities say 15 people were injured in the attack, as well as a dog.
According to federal court documents, Soliman "stated that he wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead", and that he would "do it again."
The newly-released indictment reveals a handwritten document was also found in Soliman's vehicle, which included statements such as "Zionism is our enemies untill [sic] Jerusalem is liberated and they are expelled from our land," and further described Israel as a "cancer entity."
The indictment also alleges that during an interview with law enforcement, Soliman said he viewed “anyone supporting the exist [sic] of Israel on our land” to be “Zionist," and that he “decide[d] to take [his] revenge from these people."
Soliman also admitted in the interview that he had "search[ed] the internet looking for any Zionist event" before finding Run For Their Lives, the group targeted in the attack, the indictment reads.
On top of federal hate crime charges, Soliman also faces 118 state charges, including 28 counts of attempted murder.
Prior to June 1, Soliman was living in El Paso County at a home in the Cimarron Hills neighborhood with his wife and five children. His family is currently in custody in Texas after being detained by ICE in the days following the attack.
The case is currently being investigated by the FBI and the Boulder Police Department, while the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado and the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division are handling the prosecution.
Soliman is scheduled to appear in federal court on Friday.
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