BURSTThe man accused of attacking Boulder, Colo., demonstrators calling for the return of Israeli hostages in Gaza has been charged with a federal hate crime after admitting he planned it for a year and singled out the group he described as "Zionist," the FBI said.
An FBI affidavit, made public Monday, revealed that Mohamed Soliman admitted to carrying out the attack Sunday, when he allegedly threw Molotov cocktails into the pro-Israel crowd while yelling “Free Palestine," injuring eight people.
He also faces several local charges and was scheduled to appear in court later Monday.
After his arrest, he told local and federal law enforcement that he "wanted to kill all Zionist people" and would do it again, according to the affidavit. He learned about the group through an online search and had planned for a year, waiting until his daughter graduated to conduct the attack.
He told police he left an iPhone hidden in a desk drawer at his home with messages to his family, in addition to a journal. Soliman's wife brought a phone to a local police office, the FBI said.
Inside a car registered to Soliman, police said they saw red material consistent with the rags allegedly used to light the Molotov cocktails, a red gas container and paperwork with the words "Israel," "Palestine" and "USAID," according to the affidavit.
Federal authorities have said they are investigating the attack as a targeted act of terror.
Attorney General Pam Bondi referenced the killing of two Israeli Embassy staffers last month outside a Jewish museum in Washington in a statement decrying the Colorado attack as "vile anti-Semitic violence."
"We will never tolerate this kind of hatred," she said. "We refuse to accept a world in which Jewish Americans are targeted for who they are and what they believe."
FBI agent Mark Michalek previously told reporters that the suspect used a "makeshift flamethrower" and incendiary devices to attack the victims as they attended a weekly walk in solidarity with the hostages. The victims include four men and four women, who range in age from 52 to 88.
The White House said late Sunday that Soliman is not in the country legally, after overstaying his visa.
President Trump on Monday blamed the attack on former President Biden's border policies.