Stop me if you’ve seen this before: an illegal alien in the U.S. used a homemade flamethrower and Molotov cocktails to attack pro-Israel demonstraters who want Hamas to release the hostages they’ve held for — *checks notes* — more than 600 days in Gaza.
The suspect accused of a June 1 firebombing attack on peaceful pro-Israel demonstrators in Boulder, Colorado, has been charged by federal officials with 16 counts of attempted murder, hate crimes, and a list of other charges, officials said on June 2.
The suspect, 45-year-old Mohammed Sabry Soliman, is facing both federal and state charges related to the attack, which left 12 injured. He first appeared in court on June 2 and was barred from contacting the victims of the attack. He will formally be charged with state criminal violations on June 5.
Speaking at a press conference prior to Soliman’s initial court appearance, Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty revealed the long list of state charges the defendant is facing.
They include a total of 16 counts of attempted murder, including eight counts of attempted murder with intent and after deliberation, and eight counts of attempted murder with extreme indifference, carrying a combined maximum of up to 384 years in prison.
This follows the murders of Israel Embassy staffers Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim less than two weeks ago and the firebombing of Gov. Shapiro’s home in Pennsylvania in April.
It also comes a year-and-a-half after a Jewish man named Paul Kessler was killed while peacefully supporting Israel during a counter-protest in California. His alleged killer: Loay Abdel Fattah Alnaji, a 50-year-old Moorpark College professor “and ardent Muslim, who posted a pro-Hamas video in the days after the October 7 attack on Israeli civilians.”
As I said, stop me if you’ve seen this before.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the White House said Soliman, an Egyptian national, entered the country legally in 2022 but overstayed his visa, making him an illegal immigrant.
Soliman violated the hate crime law “by throwing Molotov cocktails into a pro-Israel crowd while yelling ‘Free Palestine,’” Jessica Krueger, an FBI agent, wrote in an affidavit filed with the federal court in Colorado.
Soliman threw incendiary weapons into the crowd, leaving at least eight people with burn injuries, according to the affidavit.
Authorities say they found a black plastic container near the location of the arrest including the Molotov cocktails, or glass bottles and jars containing gasoline, revealed by Dougherty during the June 2 press conference.
Also nearby, authorities identified a vehicle belonging to Soliman containing the same material as rags used in the Molotov cocktails, a red gas container, and paperwork with the words Israel, Palestine, and USAID, an acronym for the United States Agency for International Development.
During an interview with law enforcement officials, according to the affidavit, Soliman said he researched online how to make Molotov cocktails before going to buy the ingredients and construct the devices. He said he drove to Boulder and threw two of the cocktails into the pro-Israel gathering. He told the officials he wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead, and said he would carry out an attack again.
Say it with me: diversity is our strength! You can’t have pro-Israel opinions without allowing anti-Israel opinions, even if they’re violent! Even if they’re ‘fiery but mostly peaceful’ opposing opinions. Don’t you see how having different viewpoints makes us stronger?
Anti-semitism has metastasized in the U.S. since the Hamas attack in October 2023.
“Both attacks are the direct result of months of anti-Israel propaganda, moral equivocation, and silence in the face of raging antisemitism,” said Simon Wiesenthal Center CEO Jim Berk. “The nonstop demonization of Israel and Zionism on our campuses, in our streets, and across digital platforms has created a climate where hate flourishes, and physical attacks—even murder—of Jews is inevitable.”
It’s true that anti-semitism has “globalized the intifada,” fanned in part by irresponsible pro-Hamas reporting by CNN and the BBC.
Two of the world’s largest news outlets, CNN and the BBC, once again found themselves promoting unverified claims from Hamas, falsely accusing Israel of killing dozens of civilians near a humanitarian aid site in Gaza on Sunday. The claim, which quickly spread across Western media, was later disproven by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and drone footage showing Hamas operatives attacking civilians.
The original reports, citing Hamas sources, alleged that Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians at a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) food distribution center. However, a source within the GHF, a U.S.-backed group supported by the Trump administration, told Breitbart News that Sunday was the calmest day since the operation began. Over 4.8 million meals have been delivered in less than a week, with no civilian casualties reported until the Hamas-fueled narrative surfaced.
I’m surprised that Soliman wasn’t laid out by someone exercising their Second Amendment rights. Unfortunately, we all need to be carrying these days for moments just like this.
“Jews need to arm up,” Georgetown law professor Randy Barnett warned today. “Especially for public gatherings. Become a hard target.”
Not just arm up — and not just Jews. As my friend and Townhall colleague Kurt Schlichter keeps reminding people, citizenship comes with the responsibility to defend your property, yourself, your family, your neighbors, and your Constitution. Arm yourself but also get trained, and keep that training sharp with regular trips to the range (I’ve been negligent lately on that score; I’ll do better) and training aids like the Mantis Laser Academy kit.
“Remember when George Bush said we have to fight them over there or else we’ll end up fighting them over here?” former GOP operative Logan Dobson asked earlier today. “He was right, but I don’t think he anticipated we’d invite them in.”
Well, they’re here. What are we going to do about it?
