In a disturbing escalation of domestic terrorism, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, a 45-year-old Egyptian national, carried out a terror attack on peaceful Jewish demonstrators in Boulder, Colorado. Prior to the assault, Soliman recorded a video proclaiming that “jihad for Allah’s sake” held greater importance to him than his own family.
Soliman, who entered the U.S. on a tourist visa in 2022 and overstayed, targeted a rally advocating for the release of Israeli hostages. He hurled Molotov cocktails into the crowd, injuring at least 12 individuals. In the video obtained by the Middle East Media Research Institute, Soliman stated, “I say to my mother, my wife, my children, my brothers, my people: I attest before Allah and before you that Allah, his messenger, and jihad for Allah’s sake are more beloved to me than you and the whole world are.”
During the attack, witnesses reported Soliman shouting “Free Palestine” and expressing a desire to kill “Zionist people.” Upon arrest, he told investigators he “would do it again.” Authorities discovered at least 14 additional incendiary devices at the scene.
Soliman faces federal hate crime charges and multiple state charges, including 16 counts of attempted murder. If convicted, he could face a sentence exceeding 600 years.
The attack has intensified concerns over rising anti-Semitic violence in the U.S., particularly following Hamas’s October 7 terror attacks and subsequent anti-Israel demonstrations nationwide.
In a related development, federal immigration authorities detained Soliman’s wife and five children, who had also entered the U.S. on tourist visas in 2022. They face “expedited removal,” although a federal judge has temporarily barred their deportation pending further hearings.
The Boulder Jewish community remains shaken. Rabbi Marc Soloway of Congregation Bonai Shalom noted the trauma inflicted, stating, “Left-wing radicals have become a significant threat to Jewish communities in the U.S., replacing the historical danger posed by white supremacists.”
Soliman’s own words underscore the gravity of the threat: “Allah is greater than the Zionists, Allah is greater than America and its weapons… Do not forget: Allah Akbar.” When questioned by police after the attack, Soliman said he “wanted them [the peaceful demonstrators] all to die” and that he “had no regrets, and he would go back and do it again.”
