The family of Mohamed Soliman, who is accused of setting demonstrators on fire in Boulder on Sunday afternoon, is being taken into immigration custody, according to the head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Soliman lived near Colorado Springs with his wife and five children, according to court documents.
“DHS and ICE are taking the family of suspected Boulder, Colorado terrorist, and illegal alien, Mohamed Soliman, into ICE custody,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a written statement. “This terrorist will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. We are investigating to what extent his family knew about this heinous attack, if they had knowledge of it, or if they provided support to it.”
Soliman came to the U.S. from Egypt in August 2022 on a B-2 visa that expired in February 2023, Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. said in a statement.
B-2 visas are used by people entering the U.S. temporarily for things like vacations or to get medical care.
Soliman filed for asylum in September 2022. McLaughlin did not answer The Colorado Sun’s question on the status of his petition.
The immigration status of Soliman’ family has not been disclosed by authorities.
He told Boulder Police that he had planned the attack for more than a year and waited to carry it out until after his daughter’s high school graduation. She graduated Thursday.
According to a federal arrest affidavit, Soliman claimed his wife and five children did not know of his intentions or that he was planning the attack for over a year.
Soliman told Boulder police he didn’t tell anyone about his plans.
Soliman left an iPhone hidden in a desk drawer at his home near Colorado Springs that had messages to his family, the federal affidavit said. After his arrest, his wife brought the phone to the police department, saying it was his but was also used by other members of the family.
Soliman, 45, has been charged with a federal hate crime in the attack that injured at least 12 people — an allegation that carries a maximum penalty of life in prison when accompanied by an attempted murder. He is being held at the Boulder County jail.
A dozen people, including a Holocaust survivor, were injured in the attack that targeted a group called Run for Their Lives, which had gathered in downtown Boulder in support of Israeli hostages in Gaza. Run for Their Lives has been walking peacefully each week on the Pearl Street Mall for nearly two years to raise awareness of the hostages kidnapped during Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Authorities say Soliman yelled “free Palestine” as he carried out the attack.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
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