A federal judge has issued an order preventing the immediate deportation of the wife and five children of Mohamed Sabry Soliman, the Egyptian man charged in Sunday’s firebombing attack in downtown Boulder.
U.S. District Judge Gordon P. Gallagher granted a request from the family to halt deportation proceedings just a day after they were taken into federal custody by U.S. immigration officials.
The family members, who have not been charged in connection with the attack, were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Tuesday.
The White House had previously confirmed their detention, stating they were in “ICE custody for expedited removal,” and a Tuesday post on X from the White House account stated, “Six One-Way Tickets for Mohamed’s Wife and Five Kids. Final Boarding Call Coming Soon.”
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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed the family’s apprehension and assured the public that Soliman would be “prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
However, Secretary Noem also revealed that the family is under investigation to determine “to what extent his family knew about this horrific attack, if they had any knowledge of it, or if they provided support to it.”
Mohamed Soliman, a 45-year-old Egyptian national, faces federal hate crime charges and state charges of attempted murder stemming from the Sunday incident. The FBI states that Soliman used a “makeshift flamethrower and threw an incendiary device into the crowd” at a pro-Israel event organized by “Run for Their Lives,” a group demonstrating for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza.
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that Soliman overstayed his visa. According to Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at DHS, Soliman entered the country in August 2022 on a B2 visa that expired in February 2023. He had filed for asylum in September 2022.
Judge Gallagher’s order provides a temporary reprieve for Soliman’s family, whose future in the United States remains uncertain as investigations continue into their potential knowledge or involvement in the horrific attack.
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