Family of Colorado antisemitic attack suspect taken into ICE custody and has visas revoked, source says
The family of the Egyptian national charged with attempted murder after anantisemitic Molotov cocktail attackin Boulder, Colorado, has been taken into ICE custody, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The suspected attacker,Mohamed Soliman, has a wife and five children, all of whom are now facing expedited removal from the US, the White House said in a post on X. The six family members are being held in Florence, Colorado. As of late Tuesday, a law enforcement source said immigration officials planned to transfer the detained family members to an immigration detention facility in Texas as they await final expulsion proceedings. It remains unclear to which country the family might be deported, the source said. "THEY COULD BE DEPORTED AS EARLY AS TONIGHT," the White House's post continued. The State Department also revoked the visas ofSoliman'swife and children following the attack, according to a DHS official. DHS did not provide additional details on the expedited removal process. While the administration could move quickly to deport his family, generally, if someone enters on a visa, they can't be placed in fast-track deportation proceedings, known as expedited removal, which allows immigration authorities to remove an individual without a hearing before an immigration judge. "We're also investigating to what extent his family knew about this horrific attack, if they had any knowledge of it or if they provided support to it," DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a Tuesday social media post. The FBI identified Soliman as the lone suspect in the attack, in which he is accused of using a makeshift flamethrower and Molotov cocktails to set people on fire at an event in Boulder held in support of hostages in Gaza. Soliman told detectives after he was arrested that "no one" knew about his attack plans and that "he never talked to his wife or family about it," according to the affidavit for his arrest filed Sunday. "In 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," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on social media Monday. Soliman, who now faces federal hate crime and multiple state felony charges, appeared in state court Monday and is expected to appear in federal court on Friday. CNN has reached out to his attorney for comment. It is unclear if the family has retained legal counsel. In an interview with federal and local officials after the attack, Soliman said he "wanted to kill all Zionist people," and had been planning the attack for a year. A dozen people between the ages of 25 and 88 were injured in the attack in Boulder, many of whom were older adults. All of the victims are expected to survive, police said. A husband and wife were also severely burned, both still in the hospital in "serious condition," their rabbi, Marc Soloway, told CNN on Tuesday. A total of three victims were still hospitalized at the UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital as of Tuesday, a hospital spokesperson toldthe Associated Press. "I have a congregant in her 80s who is touch-and-go with horrific burns all over her body, and was lying on the ground in flames, bringing back horrendous memories of our own Jewish history," Soloway said. Brian Horwitz, 37, was at a nearby cafe when the attack began. He heard the screams and ran toward the suspect. "It was easily the most horrific thing I've ever seen in my life," Horwitz said. "There's someone who is outraged enough to go and attack these elderly people who are doing absolutely nothing to provoke it other than walk in silence and meet in a courtyard peacefully. It's unbelievable." Only one thing held Soliman back from attacking sooner, he told authorities: Waiting for his daughter to graduate high school. Soliman targeted the marchers, who gathered to take part in the global "Run for Their Lives" event to raise awareness for the 58 Israeli hostages still in Gaza. He was seeking revenge, he told detectives, as he felt the group didn't care about Palestinian hostages and that he "wanted to kill all Zionist people," according to the affidavit. Three days after Soliman's oldest daughter graduated with her high school diploma, he schemed his way to Boulder, leaving behind an iPhone with messages to his family hidden inside a desk drawer, according to the federal complaint. Soliman, who was born in Egypt but lived in Kuwait for 17 years, arrived in the United States in August 2022 as a non-immigrant visitor and in 2023 received a two-year work authorization that expired in March, a Homeland Security officialsaidMonday. He found brief work as an accountant after moving to Colorado Springs with his wife and children. Health care company Veros Health said in a statement that Soliman was an employee beginning in May 2023 but left just three months later. The company did not respond to questions about his departure. On the night of the attack, the FBI executed a search warrant on the family's Colorado Springs home. The family was "cooperative" during the search, the FBI said Monday. Soliman's wife brought her husband's iPhone to the Colorado Springs police following his arrest, according to the federal affidavit. The family's arrest threatens to derail what looked to be a promising academic career for Soliman's oldest daughter, who graduated days before her father's attack and had recently won a "Best and Brightest" scholarship from theColorado Springs Gazette. In her scholarship application, Habiba Soliman wrote that her family's move from Kuwait to the US provided a chance for her to "fulfill her dream" of pursuing medical school, according to the Gazette. She wrote about her work as a volunteer in a local hospital and about overcoming her initial difficulties after moving to the US two years ago. One of her teachers praised her for becoming fluent in English in that short period and said she soon emerged as a leader in the classroom. This story has been updated with additional information. CNN's John Miller, Josh Campbell, Lauren Mascarenhas, Curt Devine, Majlie de Puy Kamp, Mostafa Salem, Evan Perez and Karina Tsui contributed to this report. 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Family of Colorado antisemitic attack suspect taken into ICE custody and has visas revoked, source says The family of the Egyptian national ...
