Florida Governor Ron DeSantis delivered strong remarks in Sarasota on Monday, condemning Sunday’s flamethrower attack on a pro-Israel demonstration in Boulder, Colorado, which left eight individuals injured, one critically.
The Governor characterized the incident as a symptom of “a huge, huge problem with anti-Semitism running wild in this country right now,” and sharply criticized federal immigration policies.
The attack, which occurred in Boulder’s Pearl Street pedestrian mall, involved a man identified as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, who allegedly wielded a makeshift flamethrower and shouted “Free Palestine” before injuring participants of a “Run for Their Lives” walk.
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Soliman, an Egyptian national, was reportedly in the U.S. on an expired visa, having overstayed his entry during the Biden administration. The FBI is investigating the incident as a targeted act of terrorism.
“Why are we letting people like this guy into the country from Colorado?” DeSantis questioned rhetorically. “He should have never been here to begin with, and he sure as hell should have been sent home when this Visa expired.” The Governor directly linked the incident to what he termed “the wages of having basically an open border for four years under the previous administration.”
DeSantis drew a parallel between the Boulder attack and other recent acts of violence and expressions of antisemitism, citing the October 7th Hamas attack on Israel, subsequent events at American universities, and the shooting of two Israelis in Washington D.C.
“This is really sick, but we’ve got to take this seriously, and you shouldn’t be allowing this. Having policies that allow this to foment.” He also suggested that “lies that get spread in the media” contribute to individuals being capable of such acts.
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The Governor highlighted Florida’s proactive stance against antisemitism, stating, “We’ve done a lot in Florida over the years. It’s nothing new for us to be responding.”
He recalled Florida’s efforts to rescue Americans from Israel following October 7th, asserting they acted “before Biden even did it.” DeSantis also noted Florida’s provision of security for Jewish Day schools and the deployment of Highway Patrol and other assets after the October 7th attacks.
Reiterating Florida’s commitment to combatting such acts, DeSantis concluded, “This type of stuff will not fly in Florida, and we will, we will do… what we can obviously to prevent, and certainly if anyone makes the mistake of doing what this guy in Colorado.”
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The Boulder incident has sparked widespread condemnation, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Justice Department antisemitism task force head Leo Terrell, Colorado Governor Jared Polis, and President Donald Trump all decrying it as a terror attack. The timing, on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, has also been noted as particularly chilling by leaders within the Jewish community.
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