Family members of the man charged with attacking a Boulder, Colorado, gathering of people supporting Israeli hostages have been taken into custody, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Tuesday.
Noem made the announcement on X, calling the suspect, Mohamed Soliman, an “illegal alien” and “terrorist.”
“We are investigating to what extent his family knew about this heinous attack, if they had knowledge of it, or if they provided support to it,” Noem said. “I am continuing to pray for the victims of this attack and their families. Justice will be served.”
A DHS official said six people — Soliman’s wife and children — were taken into ICE custody and will now be processed under expedited removal, which allows the government to deport migrants in the U.S. illegally without a court hearing.
The 45-year-old Soliman is accused of using Molotov cocktails and “makeshift flamethrower” in Sunday’s attack, burning multiple victims, police and the FBI said. A dozen people were injured in the attack.
The charges against Soliman include multiple counts of attempted murder and a federal hate crimes charge.
Soliman is an Egyptian national who arrived in California in 2022 on a non-immigrant visa that expired in 2023, the Department of Homeland Security said. Officials said he filed for asylum in 2022.
Witnesses told investigators that Soliman yelled “Free Palestine” and “End Zionist” during the attack.
The injured victims included an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
