Man charged with hate crime in Boulder attack on 'Zionists' to face court

A man who told investigators he was driven by a desire to kill all Zionist people when he threw Molotov cocktails at demonstrators raising awareness of Israeli hostages is set to make his first appearance in federal court on Friday to face a hate crime charge.

Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, is accused in Sunday's attack on the weekly event in Boulder, which investigators say he planned for a year. The federal case is being adjudicated in Denver, but Soliman was also charged in state court in Boulder Thursday with attempted murder and assault counts as well as counts related to the 18 Molotov cocktails police say he carried to the demonstration.

Federal authorities say Soliman, an Egyptian national, has been living in the US illegally.

Soliman is represented by state and federal public defenders, who do not comment on their cases to the media.

Investigators say Soliman told them he had intended to kill all of the roughly 20 participants at the weekly demonstration on Boulder's popular Pearl Street pedestrian mall, but he threw just two of his 18 Molotov cocktails while yelling Free Palestine. Soliman told investigators he tried to buy a gun but was not able to because he was not a legal citizen.

Soliman did not carry out his full plan because he got scared and had never hurt anyone before, police wrote in an arrest affidavit.

State prosecutors say 15 people and a dog were victims of the attack. Not all were physically injured, and some are considered victims for the legal case because they were in the area and could potentially have been hurt, 20th Judicial District Michael Dougherty said Thursday.

The dog was among the injured, which resulted in an animal cruelty charge being filed against Soliman, Dougherty said.

Soliman told investigators that he waited until after his daughter graduated from school before launching the attack, according to court documents.

Federal authorities want to deport Soliman's wife and their five children, who range from 4 to 17 years old, but a judge issued an emergency order Wednesday halting deportation proceedings until a lawsuit challenging their deportation can be considered.

US immigration officials took Soliman's wife and children into custody on Tuesday. They are being held at a family immigration detention centre in Texas.