‘Targeted Terror Attack’: Egyptian National Firebombs Pro-Israel Group in Boulder, Co., Advocating for Hostages in Gaza

Latest Developments

• Boulder Attack: A man using a “makeshift flamethrower” and “incendiary device” attacked members of a Boulder, Colorado-based pro-Israel group advocating for the release of hostages in Gaza on June 1. Eight people were hospitalized with burns and other injuries from the attack, two of whom were hospitalized in serious condition. FBI Director Kash Patel said that the Bureau was investigating the crime as a “targeted terror attack,” while FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino called the attack “ideologically motivated violence.”
• Perpetrator Overstayed Visa: Egyptian national Mohamed Soliman, 45, who was in the country illegally after overstaying his visa, was quickly identified by the FBI as the perpetrator of the attack. An FBI official identified as Special Agent McCullough told reporters that Soliman had shouted “Free Palestine” as he carried out the attack, but there were no immediate indications that he was connected to a larger network. Soliman was arrested at the scene of the attack and booked in Boulder County Jail, though the charges he faces have not yet been made public.
• Pro-Palestinian Attacks Increasing in Severity: Mark Michalek, the FBI special agent in charge of the Bureau’s Denver field office, stated, “Sadly, attacks like this are becoming too common across the country.” On May 21, two Israeli embassy aides, Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, were murdered by gunman Elias Rodriguez outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington D.C. Like Soliman, Rodriguez shouted “Free Palestine” during the attack. Separately, on April 11, an assailant set Jewish Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s mansion ablaze, later telling police that he would “not take part in [Shapiro’s] plans for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people.”

FDD Expert Response

“Since the October 7, 2023 war began, Palestinian terrorist groups and their supporters have increasingly recognized the strategic value of tailoring their violent propaganda to Western audiences. By framing ‘resistance’ as a just cause, this narrative can compel individuals to carry out violent acts in the name of the Palestinians. The violence that for decades was generally contained within the boundaries of Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel is now being internationalized by supporters of terrorism. What happened in Washington, D.C. and Boulder is the practical manifestation of the violent slogan “globalize the intifada.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst and Editor at FDD’s Long War Journal

“The Boulder attack is one more example of the degree to which the pro-Hamas movement in this country and abroad has, like Hamas itself, embraced a deadly antisemitic worldview that is too often reinforced by slanted media coverage. It also shows that Jewish communities outside of Israel have become an additional front in the war launched by the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre.” — Ben Cohen, Senior Analyst and Rapid Response Director

“When Egypt became the first Arab nation to make peace with the Jewish state, it had an historic opportunity to lead efforts toward genuine people-to-people ties, helping to stamp out the world’s oldest hatred. Instead, it chose to reap the strategic benefits of a relationship with Israel without offering the Egyptian public the opportunity to confront and eradicate a key element of Islamism — antisemitic ideology. The terrorist attack perpetrated by an Egyptian national on American soil is a byproduct of this failure.” — Mariam Wahba, Research Analyst

FDD Background and Analysis

“Pro-Hamas Assailant Murders 2 Israeli Embassy Staffers at DC Jewish Event,” FDD Flash Brief

“When Did The Current Wave of Antisemitism Begin?” by Ben Cohen

“‘Student Intifada’: FBI Arrests George Mason Student Plotting Mass Casualty Attack on NYC Israeli Consulate,” FDD Flash Brief

“Israeli Athletes to Receive 24-Hour Security at Paris Olympics,” FDD Flash Brief