Federal prosecutors charged Mohamed Sabry Soliman with 12 hate crimes for allegedly burning eight pro-Israel marchers with Molotov cocktails in Boulder, Colo., according to a June 1 indictment, which the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed on Wednesday.
Soliman yelled “Free Palestine” as he threw two Molotov cocktails at participants in a “Run for Their Lives” event, which raises awareness about the Israeli hostages in Gaza, at about 2 p.m. on June 1.
Police officers who detained the suspect found a “black plastic container with a yellow top,” which contained “at least 14 unlit Molotov cocktails, comprised of glass wine carafe bottles or Ball jars containing clear liquid and red rags hanging out of the bottles,” nearby, per the complaint.
They also found a “backpack weed sprayer, potentially containing a flammable substance” near the suspect. “The clear liquid in the glass bottles and weed sprayer were determined to be 87 octane gasoline, which was determined to contain xylene based on a field test,” according to the indictment.
Prosecutors allege that Soliman told law enforcement that he researched how to make the explosives on YouTube, bought the ingredients and made the devices.
“He stated that he wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead,” per the complaint. “Soliman stated he would do it again. He specifically targeted the ‘Zionist group’ that had gathered in Boulder, having learned about the group from an online search.”
Knowing that the group would meet at 1 p.m., he arrived five minutes earlier to await participants.
“Throughout the interview, Soliman stated that he hated the Zionist group and did this because he hated this group and needed to stop them from taking over ‘our land,’ which he explained to be Palestine,” according to the complaint. “He stated that he had been planning the attack for a year and was waiting until after his daughter graduated to conduct the attack.”
