The family of a man accused of launching an antisemitic attack that injured 12 people in Boulder, Colorado, on Sunday are in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, the White House announced Tuesday.
"The wife and five children of illegal alien Mohamed Soliman — the suspect in the antisemitic firebombing of Jewish Americans —have been captured and are now in ICE custody for expedited removal," the White House said on its official X account.
"THEY COULD BE DEPORTED AS EARLY AS TONIGHT," the post concluded.
The Department of Homeland Security is investigating "to what extent" the family of Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, "knew about this heinous attack, if they had knowledge of it, or if they provided support to it," Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote separately on X.
She described Soliman as a "terrorist" and "illegal alien" who "will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
"I am continuing to pray for the victims of this attack and their families. Justice will be served," Noem continued.
Soliman is accused of using a “makeshift flamethrower” and Molotov cocktails on a group of people peacefully calling for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza. At least 12 people were injured and eight, ranging in age from 52 to 88, were admitted to the hospital with burns.
Soliman is an Egyptian national. The Department of Homeland Security said Monday that he entered the country legally on a B2 visa, normally issued to tourists, in August 2022 and filed for asylum in September 2022. While his visa expired in February 2023, Soliman had not yet exhausted all legal options to stay in the U.S.
He was charged in Colorado with attempted first-degree murder after deliberation; attempted first-degree murder with extreme indifference; first-degree assault, including against an at-risk victim older than 70; and possession of an incendiary device. He remains in custody on $10 million bond.
He was also charged with a federal hate crime Monday.
Prosecutors said Soliman told authorities he had been planning the attack for a year and he hated what he called “the Zionist group.”
“He had no regrets, and he would go back and do it again,” J. Bishop Grewell, the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Colorado, said at a news conference Monday.
The Islamic Society of Colorado Springs said Tuesday that Soliman attended its mosque a few times, “but there were no signs that this tragic incident in Boulder would happen.”
The Islamic Center said that “his actions are completely against our religion and our values and we condemn this attack in the strongest terms.”
