The arrested suspect was identified as 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman, who is living in the United States illegally.
The FBI has named the suspect in a violent attack in Boulder, Colorado, as 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman, who allegedly used a flamethrower and an incendiary device to target pro-Israel protestors in downtown Boulder on Sunday.
The White House said that Soliman was an illegal immigrant who had overstayed his visa.
“The Biden Admin granted the alien a visa and then, when he illegally overstayed, they gave him a work permit,” Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff for policy and Homeland Security adviser, said in a post on social media platform X.
“No more hostile migration. Keep them out and send them back,” he added.
“This attack happened at a regularly scheduled weekly peaceful event,” an FBI spokesperson said at a press conference, referring to a demonstration by the group “Run for Their Lives,” which pushes for the release of hostages still held by the Hamas terrorist group.
The spokesperson said the suspect “used a makeshift flamethrower and threw an incendiary device into the crowd,” and was heard to yell “Free Palestine” during the attack.
“As a result of these preliminary facts, it is clear that this is a targeted act of violence and the FBI is investigating this as an act of terrorism,” the spokesperson said.
Six victims, aged 67 to 88, have been hospitalized. Several blocks in downtown Boulder remain closed off and are being swept by bomb squads and K-9 units, local authorities said.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser described the attack as a hate crime.
“People may have differing views about world events and the Israeli-Hamas conflict, but violence is never the answer to settling differences,” Weiser said. “We all have the right to peaceably assemble and the freedom to speak our views. But these violent acts—which are becoming more frequent, brazen and closer to home—must stop and those who commit these horrific acts must be fully held to account.”
Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn told reporters during a press conference that at about 1:26 p.m. local time, calls began to come in “indicating that there was a man with a weapon and that people were being set on fire.”
“When we arrived, we encountered multiple victims that were injured, with injuries consistent with burns and other injuries,” he said.
Redfearn indicated that multiple people at the scene pointed out the suspect to officers and that the suspect was taken to the hospital “with some minor injuries as well.”