The suspect accused of attacking peaceful protesters in Boulder on Sunday with a makeshift flamethrower and Molotov cocktails is facing a federal hate crime charge.
A mugshot of Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, who is suspected of attacking a group of peaceful protestors in Boulder, Colorado, on Sunday, June 1, 2025.
Mohamed Sabry Soliman, a 45-year-old Egyptian citizen, was charged Monday with a federal hate crime,according to documentsprovided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The offense carries a possible sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Soliman was booked into Boulder County Jail on a $10 million bond after the attack injured 8 people ranging in age from 52 to 88 years old. Soliman is accused of initiating the attack after yelling “free Palestine.”
The jail’s website lists Soliman as being held on suspicion of a range of possible charges that include:
• First-degree murder – extreme indifference
•First degree murder – deliberation with intent
•Crimes against at an risk adult/elderly
•Using explosives or an incendiary devices during a felony
•First-degree assault – non family
•First-degree assault – heat of passion
•Criminal attempt to commit a class one felony
•Criminal attempt to commit a class two felony
Officials have not announced the official filing of charges Soliman will face in the attack, however, Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty promised to “hold the attacker fully responsible” and to “secure justice for the victims.” Soliman is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Police gather, after an attack that injured multiple people, in Boulder, Colorado, U.S. June 1, 2025. REUTERS/Mark Makela
The attack occurred just before 1:30 p.m. near 13th and Pearl streets during a weekly event called the “peaceful humanitarian walk for hostages,” organized by the group Run For Their Lives, which raises awareness about Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
Despite being held on suspicion of first-degree murder, Boulder police on Monday confirmed none of the victims in the attack had died.
The FBI is treating the incident as an act of terrorism.
Stephen Miller,White House Deputy Chief of Staff,on Sunday posted on social media that Soliman was in the country illegally.
“He was granted a tourist visa by the Biden Administration and then he illegally overstayed that visa,” Miller wrote in a post on X. “In response, the Biden Administration gave him a work permit.”
Soliman was living in the U.S. illegally after having entered the country in August 2022 on a B2 visa that expired in February 2023, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in apost on X. McLaughlin said Soliman filed for asylum in September 2022 and was granted a work authorization in March 2023 that had expired. DHS did not immediately respond to requests for additional information.
Public records listed Soliman as living in a modest rented townhouse in Colorado Springs, where local media outlets reported federal law enforcement agents were on the scene Sunday.
