Federal prosecutors this week brought additional hate-crime and explosives charges against the suspect in the fire attack on Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall, according to an indictment unsealed Wednesday.
Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, who had before faced only a single federal hate-crime count in the June 1 attack, was charged in the new indictment with nine hate-crime counts, as well as two charges that he used a fire or explosive device to carry out a felony, and a single count of carrying an explosive during the commission of a felony, court records show.
An Egyptian immigrant who officials say was living in the U.S. illegally, Soliman 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 being held by Hamas in Gaza.
The new federal charges come days after Soliman’s motivations in the attack were debated in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado during a preliminary hearing last week.
Federal prosecutors are pursuing the hate-crime charges under the theory that Soliman targeted his victims because of their actual or perceived national origin — that is, that his victims were Israeli or that he believed they were Israeli.
Soliman’s defense attorneys have argued that Soliman considered his named target — “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.
A federal judge allowed the hate-crime case to move forward after a June 18 preliminary hearing, but said the issue of Soliman’s motivations — and whether they are directly tied to nationality — will be up to a jury to decide.
Soliman also faces 118 criminal charges in state court, including dozens of counts of attempted first-degree murder and assault.
Fifteen people and a dog were victimized in the attack. Eight are listed as victims of a hate crime in the new indictment.
Soliman told police he wanted to “kill all Zionist people,” but also said his attack had nothing to do with Jewish people or the Jewish community. He wrote the number “1187” in marker on the T-shirt he wore during the attack, an apparent reference to a historic battle in the year 1187 in which the city of Jerusalem changed hands from Christian to Muslim control, according to court testimony.
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Boulder attack suspect’s motivations debated in court as feds press hate-crime charge How the Boulder fire attack unfolded: Calm, confusion, chaos — ‘he’s out to kill’ Federal judge transfers deportation case for Boulder attack suspect’s family to Texas court Suspect in Boulder antisemitic terror attack charged with 118 counts including attempted murderSoliman planned the attack for more than a year and initially sought to carry out a mass shooting against the group, law enforcement officials said. 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.
He dressed as a gardener and attacked the demonstrators as they paused at the historic Boulder County Courthouse.
All 15 of the injured victims were expected to survive, Boulder officials have said. They range in age from 25 to 88, and include eight women and seven men. The most severely injured victim suffered burns to 60% of their body, court testimony revealed.
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