The man accused of throwing Molotov cocktails in a group of people demonstrating in Boulder, Colorado, in support of Israeli hostages has been charged by the Federal Ju trial for the number of 12 hate crimes.
Mohamed Sabry Soliman was accused of only one hate crime in federal court in the June 1 attack on protesters. The federal ju trial’s indictment filed in court on Tuesday was expected for weeks as a form of proceeding with felony criminal cases towards trial. It is routine for prosecutors to add charges beyond the crimes filed in their first criminal charges.
The indictment accused Soliman of trying to kill eight people injured with Molotov cocktails and targeting them because of their perception or actual country of origin that they say they are aware of their perceptions with Israel or their actual connections and support. He was also charged with another hate crime for trying to kill someone else at the event or for killing someone else nearby where he was not injured.
Soliman was also charged with two counts of using fire and explosives to commit a felony, and one charge of possessing an explosive device while committing a felony.
A man suspected of coordinating an attack on Israeli hostage supporters in Boulder, Colorado, was charged with a federal hate crime and attempted first-degree murder.
Investigators said Soliman intended to kill about 20 participants at weekly demonstrations at the pedestrian mall on Pearl Street in Boulder, but said he threw only two of his more than two dozen Molotov cocktails while yelling “Free Palestine.” Soliman, who is also charged in state court with attempted murder and other charges, said he tried to buy a gun from an investigator but couldn’t because he wasn’t a “legal citizen.”
According to court documents, he posed as a gardener wearing a construction vest to get closer to the group before launching the attack.
Federal authorities say Soliman, an Egyptian citizen, lives illegally in the United States with his family.
Soliman is represented in state and federal courts by public defense counsels who have not commented on the case to the media.
At last week’s hearing, Soliman’s defense attorney David Kraut said the alleged attack was not a hate crime, so Magistrate Judge Kathryn Stahnera urged him not to move the case forward. Instead, he said he was motivated by opposition to Zionism, a movement to establish and maintain Israel’s Jewish state. An attack motivated by someone else’s political views is not considered a hate crime under federal law.
Soliman is scheduled to appear in federal court on Friday and will be asked to hear.
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