US Firebombing Suspect Planned Attack for a Year, Say Prosecutors

An Egyptian national charged with tossing petrol bombs at a pro-Israel rally in the US state of Colorado, injuring a dozen people, spent a year planning his attack and used Molotov cocktails instead of a gun because his status as a non-citizen barred him from purchasing firearms, prosecutors said on June 2.

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BOULDER, Colorado —

Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, told investigators that he wanted to "kill all Zionist people," but had delayed carrying out the attack in the city of Boulder until after his daughter had graduated from high school, according to state and federal court documents charging him with attempted murder, assault and a federal hate crime.

Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation affidavits quoted the suspect as saying he had learned to shoot a gun in a class he took for the purpose of obtaining a concealed-carry permit but ended up using Molotov cocktails because of his immigration status. He told investigators he learned to make the firebombs from YouTube.

The federal authorities said Soliman was in the country illegally, having overstayed a tourist visa and an expired work permit.

Trump administration officials seized on June 1's violence as an example of why they are cracking down on illegal immigration.

A police affidavit filed in support of Soliman's arrest warrant said he was born in Egypt, lived in Kuwait for 17 years and moved three years ago to Colorado Springs, where he lived with his wife and five children.

"In the light of yesterday's horrific attack, all terrorists, their family members, and terrorist sympathizers here on a visa should know that under the Trump administration we will find you, revoke your visa, and deport you," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X.