Boulder attack latest: Judge blocks deportation of suspect's family
A federal judge has blocked the deportation of the family of Mohamed Soliman, the suspect in Sunday's Boulder, Colorado, Molotov cocktail attack, according to court records.
Federal Judge Gordon P. Gallagher said in a filing that federal authorities "shall not remove" Soliman's wife and their five children from the United States "unless or until this Court or the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit vacates this Order."
Soliman's wife and five children -- who are all Egyptian citizens -- were taken into the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and were being processed for expedited removal, the Department of Homeland Security had said.
But the family filed a suit contesting their deportation, court records show.
An attorney for the family, Eric Lee, called the attempt to deport the wife and children "collective punishment." He said the youngest children are 4 years old.
"A federal district court granted our request to bar the Trump admin. from deporting this family as collective punishment for a crime allegedly committed by their spouse/father," Lee wrote on social media.
The judge set a deadline of Friday for the plaintiff to submit briefs and set a hearing for June 13.
Soliman, also an Egyptian citizen, was arrested after allegedly throwing Molotov cocktails at a group of marchers advocating for the release of Israeli hostages outside the Boulder courthouse on Sunday, injuring 15 people, prosecutors said.
He lived in Kuwait for 17 years before moving to Colorado Springs three years ago, according to court documents, and has been in the U.S. on an expired tourist visa, officials said. He was granted a work permit, but that had also expired in March.
Soliman allegedly said he had been planning Sunday's attack for one year but waited until his daughter graduated from high school last Thursday to carry it out, state and federal documents said.
Soliman tried to buy a handgun at a sporting goods store in November but was denied, according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.He tried to buy the weapon on Nov. 22, 2024, but was denied based on National Instant Criminal Background Check System, according to the bureau.
The reason for his denial wasn’t disclosed. He didn’t appeal the denial, the bureau said.
About a month later, on Dec. 30, 2024, CBI denied his application for a concealed handgun permit.
After Soliman was arrested, he allegedly told investigators that he took a concealed carry class to learn how to fire a gun, but "had to use Molotov cocktails [for the attack] after he was denied the purchase of a gun due to him not being a legal citizen," state court documents said.
Soliman said he used YouTube to learn how to make the Molotov cocktails, documents said. Sixteen unused Molotov cocktails were within "arm’s reach" when he was arrested, the FBI said.
Soliman is accused of attacking a group advocating for the hostages being held in Gaza by Hamas.
Soliman has been charged with a federal hate crime and state charges, including 16 counts of attempted first-degree murder, according to court documents. He appeared in court virtually on Monday. He has yet to enter a plea.
Soliman told police "he wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead," court documents said. "SOLIMAN stated he would do it (conduct an attack) again."
He "said this had nothing to do with the Jewish community and was specific in the Zionist group supporting the killings of people on his land (Palestine)," documents said.
ABC News’ Kevin Shalvey and Emily Shapiro contributed to this report.
