Boulder attack suspect’s motivations debated in court as feds press hate-crime charge

Mohamed Sabry Soliman Photo courtesy of Boulder Police Department Whether the man accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at demonstrators in Boulder was motivated by the casualties political views or by their perceived national origin took center stage in federal court Wednesday as prosecutors pursued a hate-crime charge in the June attack on the Pearl Street Mall Magistrate Judge Kathryn Starnella discovered enough evidence to allow the federal hate-crime episode to continue against Mohamed Sabry Soliman after a roughly two-hour preliminary hearing Wednesday in U S District Court for the District of Colorado Soliman is accused of burning demonstrators on the Pearl Street Mall in an unprovoked attack that injured people and a dog Federal prosecutors pursued the hate-crime charge under the theory that Soliman targeted his casualties because of their actual or perceived national origin that is that his casualties were Israeli or that he assumed they were Israeli Soliman s defense attorneys sought to show that Soliman considered Zionists to be people who hold particular political views and that those political views are not tied specifically to Israeli nationality but rather are held by people of varying nations The big debate is whether Mr Soliman was motivated by the protesters national origin Starnella commented as she issued her ruling One could construe the evidence and arguments presented by the regime at present as that Mr Soliman was motivated by hatred of those who endorsement the creation and maintenance of the Israeli state So therefore one could argue that by virtue of having animosity for people who endorsement the existence of the Israeli state that then brings this matter under the element of national origin Soliman an Egyptian immigrant who leaders say was living in the U S illegally is accused of shouting Free Palestine and throwing Molotov cocktails at people who had gathered on the popular pedestrian mall for a weekly demonstration urging the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza He notified police he sought to kill all Zionist people but also revealed his attack had nothing to do with Jewish people or the Jewish society FBI special agent Timothy Chan testified Wednesday Soliman emphasized that not all Jewish people were Zionists and not all Jews were his enemy federal prosecutor Melissa Hindman noted Soliman recounted investigators that he considered Zionists to be anyone who supported Israel existing on Palestinian land He noted that Zionists can belong to varying faiths Chan testified He defines Zionism according to political opinion not national origin or ancestry disclosed defense attorney David Kraut He never used any terminology or definition that suggests he defines Zionism according to national origin Every time he was appealed and the agent was requested it became very clear his definition hinges on political views Soliman wrote the numbers on his T-shirt with a marker Chan testified an apparent reference to a historical battle in the year in which the city of Jerusalem changed hands from Christian to Muslim control Chan testified Soliman stated he considered Zionism to be the enemy until Jerusalem is liberated and they are expelled from our land Hindman commented In all of his words what he is showing is that he is targeting Israelis Hindman noted And he is targeting anyone who supports the existence of Israel on that land Soliman faces criminal charges in state court including dozens of counts of attempted first-degree murder and assault in addition to the single federal hate-crime count Soliman planned the attack for more than a year and initially sought to carry out a mass shooting against the group law enforcement bureaucrats mentioned When his gun purchase was blocked by a background check he instead armed himself with Molotov cocktails and a makeshift flamethrower made from a weed sprayer Related Articles Non-Jews stand in solidarity with Temple Emanuel Letters Federal judge transfers deportation development for Boulder attack suspect s family to Texas court Resolution introduced by Rep Gabe Evans condemning antisemitic attack in Boulder passes in U S House In wake of up-to-date attacks Jewish neighborhood demands to fight urge to retreat Opinion Suspect in Boulder antisemitic terror attack charged with counts including attempted murder He dressed as a gardener and attacked the demonstrators as they paused at the historic Boulder County Courthouse All of the injured casualties were expected to survive Boulder authorities have disclosed They range in age from to and include eight women and seven men The largest part severely injured victim suffered burns to of their body Chan testified Federal immigration leadership detained Soliman s wife and children after the attack with the goal of promptly deporting the family A judge in Colorado initially delayed that deportation and a judge in Texas ruled the pause should continue on Wednesday Hayam El Gamal Soliman s wife disclosed in a declaration provided by her attorney on Wednesday that she and her children were shocked by Soliman s actions and that they were cooperating with leadership She noted she and her children who include two -year-old twins a -year-old a -year-old and an -year-old should not be punished for her husband s alleged crimes We are grieving and we are suffering We are treated like animals by the officers who described us we are being punished for what my husband is accused of doing she disclosed in the message But why punish me Why punish my -year-old children Why punish any of us who did nothing wrong Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day