This is a developing story and is being updated from Israel, after the conclusion of the Shavuot holiday.
In a statement released Sunday evening by Cong. Ritchie Torres, he confirmed that the suspect in custody believed to firebomb the Boulder Run For Their Lives weekly walk is Mohamad Soliman.
“Mohamad Soliman threw Molotov cocktails at a group of Jews in an attempt to burn them alive—simply for being Jewish. The firebombing of Jews in Boulder, Colorado is the latest act of antisemitic terrorism inspired by “Globalize the Intifada,” which must be recognized for what it is: a hate movement,” the Democratic congressman wrote on Sunday, June 1.
“I stand unequivocally with my Jewish brothers and sisters in the fight against antisemitism and terrorism.”
According to Boulder Police, the attack took place at 1:26 p.m. in front of the Courthouse on Pearl Street Mall.
Suspect Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, faces federal hate crime and attempted murder charges, as well as state charges of attempted murder, use of incendiary devices, and other offenses. Soliman, a father of five who worked as a rideshare driver, remains in custody.
Soliman is an Egyptian national who arrived in California in 2022 on a non-immigrant visa, the Department of Homeland Security said. That original visa expired in February, 2023, and he had applied for asylum. Soliman had recently been living in Colorado Springs.
“Soliman stated he would do it again. He specifically targeted the ‘Zionist Group’ that had gathered in Boulder having learned about the group from an online search,” FBI said in court documents.
At a press conference shortly after the attack, Boulder’s Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said it was too early to call it a terror attack, saying it was “way too early to speculate motive.” At that time he said that he couldn’t name the suspect, though confirmed the suspect was taken into custody.
Already on Sunday afternoon, both the FBI director and deputy director characterized the firebombing as a “targeted terror attack.”
US Attorney General Pamela Bondi released a statement Monday after the federal charges were filed. “The Department of Justice has swiftly charged the illegal alien perpetrator of this heinous attack with a federal hate crime and will hold him accountable to the fullest extent of the law. Our prayers are with the victims and our Jewish community across the world,” she said. “This vile anti-Semitic violence comes just weeks after the horrific murder of two young Jewish Americans in Washington DC. We will never tolerate this kind of hatred. We refuse to accept a world in which Jewish Americans are targeted for who they are and what they believe.”
Governor Jared Polis, issued a news release saying the attack was a “heinous and targeted act on the Jewish community.”
“As the Jewish community reels from the recent antisemitic murders in Washington, DC, it is unfathomable that the community is facing another antisemitic attack here in Boulder, on the eve of the holiday of Shavuot,” Polis said. “Several individuals were brutally attacked while peacefully drawing attention to the plight of hostages who have been held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza for 604 days. Hate is unacceptable in our Colorado for all, and I condemn this act of terror. The suspect should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Social media users in the area posted videos of the attack that showed a shirtless man wearing sunglasses and holding what appear to be spray bottles with alcohol. The burning remains of Molotov cocktails appear on the flagstone rotunda in front of the courthouse.
Boulder Police Chief, Steve Redfearn provides information about today’s incident at 13th and Pearl St. https://t.co/3P9yvhp1Fy
— Boulder Police Dept. (@boulderpolice) June 1, 2025
