Judge says hate crime prosecution in Boulder, Colorado, attack can proceed
Source: NBC News/AP
June 19, 2025, 5:09 AM EDT
DENVER — A federal judge said Wednesday that prosecutors can proceed with a hate crime charge against a man accused of hurling Molotov cocktails at a group of people demonstrating in Boulder, Colorado, in support of Israeli hostages.
Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, appeared in federal court in Denver for a preliminary hearing following the June 1 attack in Boulder that injured at least eight people. Investigators say he planned the attack for a year and was driven by a desire "to kill all Zionist people."
Soliman's defense attorney, David Kraut, urged Magistrate Judge Kathryn Starnella not to allow the case to move forward. Kraut said Soliman's anti-Zionist statements and his online search for a "Zionist" event to attack showed he targeted the demonstrators because of their perceived political views — their assumed support for the nation of Israel and the political movement of Zionism. An attack motivated by someone's political views is not considered a hate crime under federal law.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Hindman said the government alleged that the attack was a hate crime because Soliman targeted people based on their national origin — their perceived connection to Israel. Prosecutors are not alleging that Soliman targeted demonstrators, who carried Israeli and American flags, because he believed they were Jewish, noting that he has said that not all Jewish people are Zionists.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/judge-says-hate-crime-prosecution-boulder-colorado-attack-can-proceed-rcna213918