The family members of the suspect in Sunday’s Colorado attack have been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials and could be deported as early as Tuesday evening, according to the White House.
The wife and five children of Mohamed Soliman, the suspect in the Boulder attack linked to antisemitism and deemed terrorist by authorities, are in “ICE custody for expedited removal.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed the family members of Soliman were being taken into custody.
Noem assured the public that Soliman would be “prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” However, the secretary added that his family is also under investigation.
“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,” Noem said in a video posted to social media.
Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Soliman, a 45-year-old from Egypt, overstayed his visa and has remained in the country “illegally.”
“He entered the country in August 2022 on a B2 visa that expired in February 2023. He filed for asylum in September 2022,” according to Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security.
The FBI said Soliman used a “makeshift flame thrower and threw an incendiary device into the crowd” during a pro-Israel event organized by Run for Their Lives, injuring 12 people. The group advocates for the return of Israeli hostages being held by Hamas following an Oct. 7, 2023, attack on a Jewish music festival in Gaza.
According to reports, Soliman was heard yelling, “Free Palestine” during the attack.
Soliman reportedly told law enforcement that “he wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead.”
“At least 14 unlit Molotov cocktails and a backpack weed sprayer, potentially containing a flammable substance, were found nearby,” according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Colorado.
Soliman faces multiple felony charges in addition to a federal hate crime charge. He is being held in the Boulder County Jail on a $10 million bond. Soliman could face hundreds of years behind bars if convicted on all charges.
