Man Who Tried To Light Jews On Fire In Colorado Charged With Federal Hate Crime
Federal prosecutors charged Egyptian national Mohamed Sabry Soliman with a hate crime on Monday after he allegedly threw two lit Molotov cocktails at a march in Boulder, Colorado, on Sunday that was aimed at raising awareness about the 58 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza. He was also charged with 16 counts of attempted murder in the first degree.
Twelve people were injured. The oldest victim, age 88, is a Holocaust survivor.
The survivor was at the march with her daughter. A friend, Chany Scheiner, told 9NEWS, “Her life wasn’t easy, but she is just a bright light.”
It comes as antisemitic incidents in America have increased since Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel and the subsequent war. In late May, two Israeli embassy aides were murdered in D.C. outside a Jewish Museum, and in April, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home was targeted in an arson attack.
MORE ON THE ATTACK
Soliman, 45, who arrived in the U.S. in 2022 and overstayed his tourist visa and work authorization, admitted he’d been planning the attack for a year. He said he was targeting a “Zionist group,” and said he would attack them again, according to the FBI affidavit.
At the scene, Soliman began throwing Molotov cocktails at the crowd, shirtless, while yelling “How many children killed?” and “End Zionism.”
Acting U.S. Attorney J. Bishop Grewell said Monday that Soliman tried to purchase a firearm prior to the attack, but was unable to because he is not a U.S. citizen. Soliman told the FBI he learned how to make the explosives on YouTube.
Officials say they recovered at least 16 unused Molotov cocktails at the scene, as well as “a backpack weed sprayer, potentially containing a flammable substance,” near the suspect after his arrest.
More on suspect: Soliman lives in Colorado Springs with his wife and five children. He applied for asylum in September 2022, and was granted a two-year work authorization in early 2023, which expired earlier this year.
LARGER TRENDS
More than 9,000 antisemitic incidents were recorded across the U.S. in 2024 — a 5% increase from the year prior and record high since the Anti-Defamation League began tracking in 1979. Over the past 10 years, there’s been a nearly 900% increase in incidents. Additionally, note the observation in the video clip above from former national security official John Miller about the disturbing trend of recent attackers waiting for the police to take responsibility for their attacks.
