Suspect in attack on Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall charged with federal hate crime

The man accused of injuring eight people Sunday on Boulder s Pearl Street Mall with a makeshift flamethrower and Molotov cocktails researched and planned the attack for more than a year according to federal court documents Mohammed Sabry Soliman was booked into Boulder County Jail late Sunday night on suspicion of eight felonies including murder and assault and is being held on a million bond according to jail records Photo courtesy of Boulder Police Department Mohammed Sabry Soliman a -year-old man whom federal officers announced was living in Colorado illegally at the time of the attack has been charged with a federal hate crime according to a Federal Bureau of Study arrest affidavit Soliman threw two lit Molotov cocktails at the crowd of Run for Their Lives demonstrators burning eight people the affidavit stated Investigators identified another box with at least unlit Molotov cocktails inside nearby Run for Their Lives is a national movement calling for the release of Israeli hostages held by the terrorist group Hamas in Gaza The local Boulder chapter was hosting their weekly walk on Pearl Street when they were attacked by Soliman outside of the courthouse The walk was scheduled for p m Soliman explained federal functionaries he arrived at p m and waited for them to arrive No American should experience violence motivated by hatred based on their faith or national origin and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice will act swiftly and decisively to bring the perpetrators of such crimes to justice Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K Dhillon explained in a announcement There can be zero tolerance for such acts in our great nation The Molotov cocktails were made with bottles and jars contained clear liquid and had red rags hanging out according to the document A backpack weed sprayer was also discovered near the box of explosives Federal bureaucrats declared the jars and weed sprayer were all filled with gasoline Related Articles What we know about the Pearl Street attack in Boulder people set on fire in targeted act of violence on Boulder s Pearl Street Mall injured in head-on crash involving driver fleeing Aurora police Fatal shooting at Adams County house party under examination sheriff says At least dead in Denver crash involving motorcycle police say Soliman narrated investigators that he planned the attack for more than a year and specifically targeted the Run for Their Lives chapter which he called a Zionist group federal leaders noted Soliman confessed to the attack after being taken into custody Sunday and notified the police he would do it again according to the FBI arrest affidavit He narrated law enforcement that he demanded to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead the affidavit stated Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day