A man accused of hurling Molotov cocktails at a group of people demonstrating in Boulder in support of Israeli hostages now faces 12 hate crime counts, according to federal court documents unsealed Wednesday.
Mohamed Soliman, 45, previously faced a single federal hate crime for the June 1 attack that injured at least eight people, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
Federal investigators say Soliman carried a backpack weed sprayer that contained a flammable liquid and black plastic container that had at least 18 glass bottles and jars, all which had flammable liquid and red rags stuffed through the top to act as wicks.
As he approached the “Run for Their Lives” group, he threw two Molotov cocktails while shouting, “Free Palestine!,” the federal indictment said.
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.
Inside his car, investigators found a handwritten note that said, “Zionism is our enemies until (sic) Jerusalem is liberated and they are expelled from our land,” court documents said. The note also described Israel as a “cancer entity.”
A federal judge last week said prosecutors can proceed with the single hate crime he initially faced. Soliman, an Egyptian national, also faces 118 counts, including 28 counts of attempted first-degree murder, in state court.
In federal court, where prosecutors are pursuing the hate crime charges, Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Hindman said the attack was a hate crime because Soliman targeted people based on their national origin — their perceived connection to Israel. Prosecutors are not alleging that Soliman targeted demonstrators, who carried Israeli and American flags, because he believed they were Jewish, noting that he has said that not all Jewish people are Zionists.
But Soliman’s defense attorney argued that his anti-Zionist statements and his online search for a Zionist event to attack showed he targeted the demonstrators because of their perceived political views — their assumed support for the nation of Israel and the political movement of Zionism.
An attack motivated by someone’s political views is not considered a hate crime under federal law.
In an interview with police after the attack, Soliman said he viewed “anyone supporting the exist [sic] of Israel on our land” to be “Zionist.” The defendant stated that he “decide[d] to take [his] revenge from these people” and “search[ed] the internet looking for any Zionist event.”
Soliman stated that he learned of the Run for Their Lives group through internet searches for “Zionist” events and that he identified the “Zionist” group when he saw the flags and signs they carried at the courthouse.
Authorities consider 15 people and a dog as victims of the attack at the downtown Pearl Street pedestrian mall. One is a Holocaust survivor. Some are considered victims because they could have been injured.