Boulder

July 3 (UPI) — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the family of the man accused of attacking a group of Jewish demonstrators in Colorado last month, ruling that despite confusion caused by the Trump administration, they are receiving their full rights under immigration law and their deportation proceedings are not being expedited.

Hayam El Gamal and her five children were detained by federal immigration agents on June 3, days after her husband, 45-year-old Egyptian national Mohamed Sabry Soliman, allegedly wounded more than a dozen people attending a weekly Boulder, Colo., event in support of Jewish hostages held by Hamas using a makeshift flamethrower and Molotov cocktails.

One of the wounded, 82-year-old Karen Diamond, died of her injuries, prosecutors announced Monday.

The family has been fighting deportation since their detention, believing their removal process was being expedited, which is not permitted under the Immigration and Nationality Act, as they have been in the country for more than two years.

They received temporary restraining orders preventing their removal as the judge reviewed the case.

On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia dismissed their lawsuit without prejudice, finding that despite the confusion over whether their deportation was being expedited, they were, in fact, placed into ordinary removal proceedings and would appear before an immigration judge where they could seek protection from removal.

“Accordingly, to the extent that petitioners seek to enjoin their removal on an expedited basis, this request is moot,” Garcia said in her ruling. “And to the extent that petitioners seek to enjoin their being subjected to ordinary, or ‘full,’ removal proceedings, such relief is not available to them.”

The confusion over their removal proceedings arose from Trump administration statements published the day they were detained.

The White House posted a statement to X claiming that “six one-way tickets for Mohamed’s Wife and five kids” had been arranged and that “final boarding call coming soon.” The tweet ended with an emoji of an airplane.

A second tweet from the White House said “THEY COULD BE DEPORTED AS EARLY AS TONIGHT.”

The statements prompted the family to file a lawsuit seeking to halt their expedited removal.

Garcia highlighted the confusion caused by the White House messaging in her ruling, but said the government has since clarified that this is not the case.

“The court hastens to remind petitioners that they still have an avenue for seeking their release from detention while their removal proceedings continue,” said Garcia, a President Bill Clinton appointee.

The Department of Homeland Security celebrated the ruling without acknowledging the confusion caused by the White House’s messaging.

“This is a proper end to an absurd legal effort on the plaintiff’s part,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin at the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.

“Just like her terrorist husband, she and her children are here illegally and are rightfully in ICE custody for removal as a result.”

DHS has previously argued that the Soliman family is in the United States illegally.

According to an earlier statement from DHS, Soliman, his wife and their five children first came to the United States on Aug. 27, 2022, and filed for asylum about a month later. They were granted entry until Feb. 26, 2023, and had apparently overstayed their visas since.

Soliman has pleaded not guilty to 12 federal hate crime counts.

June 4 (UPI) — A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked the deportation of family members of the Egyptian national charged in the anti-Semitic attack in Boulder, Colo.

In the U.S. District Court in Denver, Judge Gordon P. Gallagher directed the federal government to stop the deportation proceedings of Mohamed Soliman‘s 41-year-old wife, Hayem El Gamal, and their five children.

On Tuesday, they were taken into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in Florence, Colo., about 40 miles from their home in Colorado Springs. Federal immigration records show they are being held at a federal detention center in Dilley, Texas, designed to house families with minors, CBS News reported.

The White House posted Tuesday on X: “THEY COULD BE DEPORTED AS EARLY AS TONIGHT.”

“Defendants SHALL NOT REMOVE” the five undocumented migrants from Colorado or the United States “unless or until this Court or the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit vacates this order,” Gallagher wrote in his order.

“Moreover, the Court finds that deportation without process could work irreparable harm and an order must (be) issue(d) without notice due to the urgency this situation presents.”

He set a hearing for June 13 for a request on a temporary restraining order.

The Washington Post reported the family was held “incommunicado and without access to a lawyer” after they were placed in ICE custody on Tuesday, their lawyers said in court records.

By applying for asylum, the Trump administration can’t legally speed up their deportation, the legal representative said.

“Punishing individuals – including children as young as four-years-old – for the purported actions of their relatives is a feature of medieval justice systems or police state dictatorships, not democracies,” family attorney Eric Lee said Wednesday in a statement to CNN. “The detention and attempted removal of this family is an assault on core democratic principles and must provoke widespread opposition in the population, immigrant and non-immigrant alike.”

In the court filing obtained by The New York Times, the suspect’s wife “was shocked to learn” that her husband “was arrested for having committed a violent act against a peaceful gathering of individuals commemorating Israeli hostages.”

After his arrest, Soliman told detectives “no one” knew about his attack plans,” including his wife or children, according to the affidavit for his arrest filed Sunday.

“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. I am continuing to pray for the victims of this attack and their families. Justice will be served,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted on X on Tuesday.

The children are an 18-year-old daughter, two girls and two boys.

They are Egyptian citizens, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

El Gamal, 41, is a network engineer with a pending EB-2 visa for professionals with advanced degrees.

The eldest daughter, identified as Habiba Soliman, recently graduated from high school in Colorado Springs. An article in the Colorado Springs Gazette on April 25 said she had won a scholarship and planned to study medicine.

In August 2022, they were initially granted entry until February 2023, DHS said in a Wednesday statement. Soliman applied for asylum in September 2022 in Denver, the agency said.

In 2023, Soliman received a two-year work authorization that expired in March, a DHS official told CNN.

Authorities say Soliman yelled “Free Palestine” and used a flamethrower to ignite molotov cocktails and threw them into the crowd where a pro-Israeli group, Run for Their Lives, was seeking the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza.

BOULDER, Colo. — A federal judge issued an order Wednesday to prevent the deportation of the wife and five children of an Egyptian man charged in a firebombing attack in Boulder, Colo.

U.S. District Judge Gordon P. Gallagher granted a request from the family of Mohamed Sabry Soliman to halt deportation proceedings of his wife and five children who were taken into federal custody Tuesday by U.S. immigration officials.

The family members have not been charged in the attack on a group demonstrating for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza. Soliman faces federal hate crime charges and state charges of attempted murder in the Sunday attack in downtown Boulder.

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said Wednesday that they are being processed for removal proceedings. It’s rare that family members of a person accused of a crime are detained and threatened with deportation.

Soliman’s wife, 18-year-old daughter, two minor sons and two minor daughters all are Egyptian citizens, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.

“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,” Noem said in a statement.

Noem also said federal authorities will immediately crack down on people who overstay their visas in response to the Boulder attack.

Soliman told authorities that no one, including his family, knew about his planned attack, according to court documents that, at times, spelled his name as “Mohammed.”

Earlier Wednesday, authorities raised the number of victims in the attack from 12 to 15, plus a dog.

Boulder County officials who provided updates on the number of victims said in a news release they include eight women and seven men, ranging in age from 25 to 88. The Associated Press left an email message Wednesday with prosecutors seeking more details on the newly identified victims and the dog.

Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, had planned to kill all of the roughly 20 participants in Sunday’s demonstration at the popular Pearl Street pedestrian mall, but he threw just two of his 18 Molotov cocktails while yelling “Free Palestine,” police said. Soliman, an Egyptian man who federal authorities say has been living in the U.S. illegally, didn’t carry out his full plan “because he got scared and had never hurt anyone before,” police wrote in an affidavit.

His wife and five children were taken into custody Tuesday by U.S. immigration officials, and the White House said they could be swiftly deported. It’s rare that family members of a person accused of a crime are detained and threatened with deportation in this way.

“Anyone who thinks they can come to America and advocate for antisemitic violence and terrorism — think again,” Noem said in a statement. “You are not welcome here. We will find you, deport you and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.

Soliman told authorities that no one, including his family, knew about his plans for the attack, according to court documents that, at times, spelled his name as “Mohammed.”

According to an FBI affidavit, Soliman told police he was driven by a desire “to kill all Zionist people” — a reference to the movement to establish and protect a Jewish state in Israel. Authorities said he expressed no remorse about the attack.

A vigil was scheduled for Wednesday evening at the local Jewish community center to support those affected by the attack.

Defendant’s immigration status

Soliman was born in el-Motamedia, an Egyptian farming village in the Nile Delta province of Gharbia that’s located about 75 miles north of Cairo, according to an Egyptian security official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to talk to the media.

Before moving to Colorado Springs three years ago, he spent 17 years in Kuwait, according to court documents.

He has been living in the U.S. illegally, having arrived in August 2022 on a tourist visa that expired in February 2023, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a post on X. She said Soliman filed for asylum in September 2022 and was granted a work authorization in March 2023, but that it also expired.

DHS did not respond to requests for additional information about the immigration status of his wife and children and the U.S. State Department said that visa records are confidential. The New York Times, citing McLaughlin, said his family’s visas have since been revoked and they were arrested Tuesday by ICE.

Hundreds of thousands of people overstay their visas each year in the United States, according to Homeland Security Department reports.

The case against Soliman

Soliman told authorities that he had been planning the attack for a year and was waiting for his daughter to graduate before carrying it out, the affidavit said.

A newspaper in Colorado Springs that profiled one of Soliman’s children in April noted the family’s journey from Egypt to Kuwait and then to the U.S. It said after initially struggling in school, she landed academic honors and volunteered at a local hospital.

Soliman currently faces federal hate crime charges and attempted murder charges at the state level, but authorities say additional charges could be brought. He’s being held in a county jail on a $10-million bond and is scheduled to make an appearance in state court on Thursday.

His attorney, Kathryn Herold, declined to comment after a state court hearing Monday.

Witnesses and police have said Soliman threw two incendiary devices, catching himself on fire as he hurled the second. Authorities said they believe Soliman acted alone. Although they did not elaborate on the nature of his injuries, a booking photo showed him with a large bandage over one ear.

The attack unfolded against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war, which continues to inflame global tensions and has contributed to a spike in antisemitic violence in the United States. The attack happened at the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot and barely a week after a man who also yelled “Free Palestine” was charged with fatally shooting two Israeli Embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington.

Six victims hospitalized

The victims ranged in age from 25 to 88, and the nature of some of their injuries spanned from serious to minor, officials said. They were members of the volunteer group called Run For Their Lives who were holding their weekly demonstration.

Three victims were still hospitalized Tuesday at the UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital, spokesperson Kelli Christensen said.

One of the 15 victims was a child when her family fled the Nazis during the Holocaust, said Ginger Delgado of the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office, who is acting as a spokesperson for the family of the woman, who doesn’t want her name used.

Slevin, Bedayn and Santana write for the Associated Press. AP reporters Eric Tucker in Washington; Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Mo.; Samy Magdy in Cairo; Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City; and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to this report.

Eight people were injured in an attack on Sunday on a group of people in the United States city of Boulder, Colorado, who were campaigning for the release of captives held by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups in Gaza.

Police arrested a man who allegedly threw incendiary devices towards people. The FBI said it was investigating the attack as an “act of terror”.

In a social media post, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described the attack as an anti-Semitic act.

Here is what we know so far:

What happened in Boulder, Colorado?

A group of people were walking in a “regularly scheduled, weekly peaceful event” aimed at galvanising support for the release of captives held in Gaza when they were attacked, according to an official news release shared by the Boulder Police Department. The police were called at 1:36pm (10:36 GMT).

The news release said that witnesses saw the attacker using a makeshift flamethrower as he lobbed incendiary devices – meant to start fires – at the gathering.

Witness videos circulating on social media showed a shirtless man appearing to hold two glass bottles, which looked like Molotov cocktails.

What is a Molotov cocktail?

A Molotov cocktail is a very simple incendiary weapon. It comprises a bottle filled with a flammable liquid covered by a wick, which is lit on fire before the bottle is thrown at a target.

They are named after Vyacheslav Molotov, the foreign minister of the Soviet Union during World War II. In 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Finland, and the country experienced heavy bombing. Molotov insisted that the Soviet Union was not dropping bombs, only food parcels.

In response, the Finns threw handmade explosives towards Soviet tanks, sarcastically dubbing them “Molotov cocktails”.

Where did the attack happen?

The attack took place at the outdoor Pearl Street Mall, a pedestrian mall in downtown Boulder that stretches four blocks. It is home to retail stores, art galleries and restaurants. The mall is a two-minute drive, or 1.1km (0.7 miles), from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

What was the event the victims were attending?

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser released a statement on Sunday, saying that the attack was “against a group that meets weekly on Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall to call for the release of the hostages in Gaza”.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a nonprofit focused on combating anti-Semitism – which was accused of double standards in January for defending a salute made by billionaire Elon Musk at an inauguration rally for US President Donald Trump – released a statement saying the event was part of an international campaign called “Run for Their Lives”.

The campaign involves weekly gatherings worldwide where Jewish community members run and walk in solidarity with the captives taken by Hamas and other Palestinian groups during their attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023.

Run for Their Lives gatherings take place in 230 locations in 24 countries, including Brazil, Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa and Spain. Groups in multiple US states participate in this event and there are two locations in Colorado: one in Boulder and the other one in Denver’s Washington Park.

Armed Palestinian groups took about 251 captives from Israel on October 7. While some captives were returned in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, or rescued, others have died in captivity. Some 59 captives are believed to remain in captivity, and Israel believes that 35 of them have died.

Since October 7, Israeli military bombardment and other attacks have killed more than 61,700 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to the Gaza Government Media Office.

Who was the suspect and what did he say during the attack?

The Boulder attack suspect has been identified as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, a 45-year-old man from El Paso County, according to the Boulder Police news release.

Soliman was also injured in the attack, though the nature of his injuries is unclear.

The release says that Soliman was medically evaluated at a hospital and then was booked in the Boulder County Jail for multiple charges. The release did not specify what exactly these charges were.

According to the news release, Soliman yelled, “Free Palestine” during the attack.

Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy, claimed in a post on X that the Boulder attack was carried out by an “illegal alien”.

Without naming Soliman, Miller said the suspect had overstayed a tourist visa granted to him by the government of former US President Joe Biden. “In response, the Biden Administration gave him a work permit. Suicidal migration must be fully reversed,” Miller wrote.

Al Jazeera was not able to independently verify Soliman’s immigration status in the US.

What do we know about the victims?

Law enforcement officials said that eight people were injured. These include four women and four men, aged between 52 and 88.

The victims were taken to hospitals in the Denver metropolitan area.

How are authorities responding?

The Boulder Police Department called the FBI within minutes of the attack, the news release said. The FBI is investigating this as a terror attack.

“This act of terror is being investigated as an act of ideologically motivated violence based on the early information, the evidence, and witness accounts,” FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino wrote in an X post. “We will speak clearly on these incidents when the facts warrant it.”

FBI Director Kash Patel also wrote in an X post that his team was investigating the “targeted terror attack” and that FBI agents and law enforcement were at the scene already.

Kristi Noem, the Homeland Security secretary, wrote in an X post that the department was working on the situation with its “interagency partners”, including the FBI.

What is the latest on ground?

According to an update by the Boulder Police Department on X on Monday at 05:53 GMT, all roads in downtown Boulder have been reopened except for a block on Pearl Street, “which should be reopened in the next few hours”.

What have been the reactions?

“We will continue to ensure that justice is pursued swiftly, support is provided to victims and their communities and preventative action is taken to protect everyone’s safety,” FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek was quoted saying in the Boulder Police news release.

Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn acknowledged that many residents were scared, and had questions about the attack. “Boulder has recovered from acts of violence before and we will again recover. I urge this community to come together. Now is not the time to be divisive,” he was quoted saying in the same news release.

Israeli Foreign Minister Saar wrote on X on Monday: “Shocked by the terrible antisemitic terror attack targeting Jews in Boulder, Colorado. This is pure Antisemitism, fueled by the blood libels spread in the media.” He did not elaborate on what he meant by this.

US Senate Democratic Party Leader Chuck Schumer wrote on X: “Tonight, a peaceful demonstration was targeted in a vile, antisemitic act of terror. Once again, Jews are left reeling from repeated acts of violence and terror.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X on Sunday: “We’re united in prayer for the victims of a targeted terror attack this afternoon in Boulder.”

We’re united in prayer for the victims of a targeted terror attack this afternoon in Boulder.

Terror has no place in our great country.

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) June 1, 2025

Many Democrats have released online statements condemning the attack and describing it as anti-Semitic.

Less than two weeks after the horrific antisemitic attack at the Capitol Jewish Museum in DC—and after two relentless years of surging antisemitic attacks across the country—the Jewish community is once again shattered by pain and heartbreak. 

Tonight, a peaceful demonstration…

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) June 2, 2025

Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic senator from Massachusetts, wrote on X: “My thoughts are with the victims, their families, and the Jewish community that once again appears to have been targeted with hate. We all have a responsibility to stop these antisemitic acts.”

Another terrible attack, this time in Boulder, Colorado. My thoughts are with the victims, their families, and the Jewish community that once again appears to have been targeted with hate. We all have a responsibility to stop these antisemitic acts. https://t.co/KrAA3wwHPi

— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) June 2, 2025

House Representative Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat, released a statement on X, saying: “Our heartfelt prayers are with all of our Jewish brothers and sisters impacted by this unconscionable act of terror, and we thank law enforcement for their swift response. Antisemitism has no place in our nation or anywhere throughout the world. It must be crushed. We stand with the Jewish community today and always.”

My statement on the Antisemitic Attack in Boulder, Colorado. pic.twitter.com/EUpdnl9M6K

— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) June 1, 2025

Have similar events taken place recently?

On May 22, a man named Elias Rodriguez was charged after fatally shooting two Israeli Embassy staff workers in Washington, DC. He was charged with murdering foreign officials, causing death with a firearm and discharging a firearm in a crime of violence.

Multiple people were injured after a man shouting “free Palestine” tossed Molotov cocktails at a gathering in support of Israeli hostages in Colorado, authorities said.

Police said eight people were injured in the attack at the Pearl Street Mall, a popular outdoor space in Boulder, about 30 miles (48km) from Denver.

The FBI called it a suspected terror attack and said the suspect used a makeshift flamethrower, Molotov cocktails and other incendiary devices.

Footage of the attack shows the suspect, who was shirtless, screaming at the group and had what appears to be Molotov cocktails in each hand when he was arrested.

The attack unfolded during a weekly scheduled demonstration put on by Run for Their Lives, a pro-Israeli group that that holds walks in the outdoor pedestrian mall in solidarity with Israeli hostages in Gaza.

Police got calls around 13:26 local time (20:26 BST) about a man with a weapon and people being set on fire, Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said at a news conference.

Witnesses told authorities that the suspect used a “makeshift flamethrower and threw an incendiary device into the crowd, ” said Mark Michalek, who heads the FBI’s Denver office.

Redfearn added those devices included Molotov cocktails being tossed at the crowd.

He identified the suspect as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45.

Soliman is an Egyptian national, government officials told the BBC’s US partner CBS News.

In 2022, Soliman arrived in California on a non-immigrant visa that expired in February 2023, multiple sources have told CBS News. He had been living in Colorado Springs.

Officers who responded found multiple people injured, including those with burns.

Footage that appeared to be from the attack showed a chaotic scene: smoke filling the air, people running in multiple directions, spots of grass on fire and people injured on the ground.

Warning: This story contains details some readers may find distressing.

In images and videos posted online, but not yet verified by the BBC, a man appearing to be the suspect is seen without a shirt and holding bottles with liquid with a piece of red cloth inside. He can be heard yelling at the crowd and appears to be advancing on them as some rush to flee.

As he screams, one woman is on the ground and appears injured. People surround her and one man pours water on her body.

Footage shows police rushing to the scene and arresting the suspect. Police say he was taken to the hospital with injuries.

“It is clear that this is a targeted act of violence and the FBI is investigating this as an act of terrorism,” Mr Michalek said. “Sadly, attacks like this are becoming too common across the country.”

The attack is the second high-profile act of violence in the US in the last two weeks related to the conflict in Gaza.

A man who shouted “free Palestine” fatally shot two Israeli embassy employees outside a Jewish museum in Washington DC on 22 May. The incident happened at a networking event organised by a Jewish organisation.

Colorado’s Attorney General Phil Weiser said that from what officials know the attack “appears to be hate crime given the group that was targeted”.

“People may have differing views about world events and the Israeli-Hamas conflict, but violence is never the answer to settling differences,” Weiser said in a statement on Sunday. “Hate has no place in Colorado.”

Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, said he was “shocked” by the incident and called the attack “pure antisemitism”.

“Shocked by the terrible antisemitic terror attack targeting Jews in Boulder, Colorado,” he wrote on X. “This is pure antisemitism, fueled by the blood libels spread in the media.”

Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, similarly was saddened over the attack, calling it “terrorism” and asking for “concrete action” in response.

In a post on X, the ambassador said that Jewish protesters were brutally attacked”.

“Terrorism against Jews does not stop at the Gaza border – it is already burning the streets of America,” he said.

DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY,

Police say man arrested following calls to police about someone ‘setting people on fire’.

Police said a male suspect has been taken into custody after an attack that injured multiple people in Boulder, Colorado, in what the FBI director described as a “targeted terror attack”.

While stressing that the information was “very preliminary,” Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said on Sunday that the man was apprehended following calls to the police dispatch of someone with a weapon who was “setting people on fire”.

Redfearn said he was not in a position to identify the suspect yet, noting that he had been taken to the hospital. He said there were multiple injuries among the victims, ranging “from very serious to more minor”.

The Boulder attack occurred in the vicinity of a walk to remember the Israeli captives who remain in Gaza.

FBI Director Kash Patel, in a statement, described the incident as a “targeted terror attack” and said agents were on the scene.

Redfearn, however, said it was too early to speculate about a motive.

“We are not calling it a terror attack at this moment,” he said.

“This was a beautiful Sunday afternoon in downtown Boulder on Pearl Street and this act was unacceptable … I ask that you join me in thinking about the victims, the families of those victims, and everyone involved in this tragedy.”

More to follow.