The wife and five children of Mohamed Soliman — the Egyptian national accused of firebombing a pro-Israel demonstration in Boulder, Colorado — have been taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed Tuesday.
“Today, the Department of Homeland Security and ICE are taking the family of suspected Boulder, Colorado, terrorist and illegal alien, Mohamed Soliman, into ICE custody,” Noem announced in a video statement. “We’re also investigating to what extent his family knew about this horrific attack — if they had any knowledge of it, or if they provided support to it.”
A post from the White House on X added that the family “could be deported by tonight.”
As CatholicVote previously reported, Soliman was arrested June 1 after allegedly hurling a firebomb at elderly participants of the weekly “Run for Their Lives” demonstration, which advocates for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas. Witnesses said Soliman repeatedly shouted “Free Palestine” and “End Zionist” during the assault.
Federal officials have labeled the incident an act of terrorism.
It was later revealed that Soliman, 45, entered the US on a nonimmigrant visa in Aug. 2022, which expired in Feb. 2023. He applied for asylum and was granted temporary work authorization under the Biden administration, which expired this March. He has remained in the country illegally since.
According to a federal affidavit, Soliman waited until after his daughter’s high school graduation to carry out the attack, then drove to Boulder three days later to execute a plot he had spent over a year planning.
“He wanted them all to die… He said he would go back and do it again,” Boulder Detective John Sailer wrote in court documents. Soliman reportedly told police he viewed supporters of Israel as Zionists occupying “our land,” referring to Palestine.
Soliman has been charged with attempted murder and a hate crime.
