Mohamed Sabry Soliman, a 45-year-old man, was indicted on federal hate crime charges. His purported assault on a vigil in Boulder, Colorado, where attendees were advocating for the release of Israeli hostages. The controversial arrest happened during a protest calling for the release of hostages taken by militants of the Palestinian freedom movement Hamas. Witnesses claimed Soliman fired a homegrown flamethrower into the protesting crowd. This resulted in 8 people receiving serious burns and related serious injuries, requiring hospitalization.
The assault played out while the activists were marching through Boulder demanding the release of hostages. The criminal complaint against him lays out significant evidence indicating Soliman intentionally targeted the Jewish group. This targeting was supposedly because of their pro-Israel stance. His actions have received considerable attention, not least because his acts are being defined as acts of terrorism.
Now, Soliman’s legal fight has become more complicated including because of his immigration status after the troubling incident. He was determined to be an undocumented immigrant, having overstayed an expired work visa. Political leaders on both sides of the aisle have denounced this facet of his prosecution. Former President Donald Trump decried the attack on the protestors. Trump attributed Soliman’s entry into the country to policies implemented during President Biden’s administration.
At a court appearance scheduled for tomorrow in Boulder, Soliman will be arraigned on state charges in connection with the attack. We joined a chorus of advocates who wrote to prosecutors in Louisiana, urging them to pursue the harshest prosecutions possible against him. The federal hate crime charge makes his situation even worse. Hopeful signs It is encouraging to see this extraordinary response from federal authorities matched to the severity of the assault.
The Boulder incident has, understandably, raised fears about safety at public demonstrations, actions, and protests. Many fear that increasingly perilous political fault lines will boil over into violence. Our neighborhoods have become ground zero for increasingly incendiary clashes between pro-Israel and pro-Palestine. In turn, officials generally encourage people to be aware and vigilant during events and large celebrations.