Egyptian who firebombed Jewish event in Colorado failed gun check but wasn’t deported

The illegal immigrant from Egypt who threw incendiary Molotov cocktails at a Jewish pro-Israel group in Colorado had previously been rejected in his attempt to purchase a firearm last year due to something that popped in his background check — but no effort was made to deport him.

Arrest reports say Mohamed Sabry Soliman in early June shouted "free Palestine" as he attempted to firebomb demonstrators who were marching in support of the Israeli hostages still held by Hamas. It was later revealed that Soliman had tried to purchase a firearm in Colorado in November, but that a criminal background check resulted in him being denied access to a gun.

In what may have been a missed opportunity to scrutinize the visa-overstaying Egyptian who was trying to purchase a gun, no action was taken by the Biden administration to deport him.

"How many American lives would be saved and violence would be prevented if Biden had simply enforced the law?" Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), told Just the News on Monday. "Mohamed Soliman — an Egyptian national in our country illegally — torched 12 innocent Americans with Molotov cocktails after planning this anti-Semitic terror attack for a year. The Biden administration had multiple opportunities to prevent this depraved terrorism had they simply enforced the law — they refused and Americans paid the price."

Unclear whether CBI reported it to ICE

Soliman told law enforcement when he was arrested that he had been denied a gun last year due to his immigration status, and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) strongly implied to Just the News — but declined to say outright — that this firearm purchase rejection was reported to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last year under Biden. No efforts to deport Soliman appear to have been undertaken until after his terrorist attack.

Trump administration officials have pointed to the fact that Soliman was here illegally when he carried out his firebombing effort — which resulted in multiple injuries but no deaths — and that the Biden administration had previously let Soliman stay in the country even though he had overstayed his visa.

Soliman attacked a group of demonstrating Israeli hostage supporters with a makeshift flamethrower and Molotov cocktails as the pro-Israel group gathered near the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, Colorado on June 1.

The FBI’s Denver Field Office said that fifteen people — eight women and seven men ranging in age from 25 to 88 years old — were identified as victims of the Pearl Street Mall attack. A dog was also injured in the attack.

Soliman was hit with dozens of state-level charges, including for attempted murder, assault, and possession of an incendiary device. The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announced that Soliman was also charged with one count of a hate crime.

Soliman was sent to Boulder County Jail and faces a $10 million bond. 

Boulder Detective John Sailer wrote in an affidavit for an arrest warrant against Soliman in early June that “Mohamed said he had to use Molotov cocktails after he was denied the purchase of a gun due to him not being a legal citizen. Mohamed said he took a concealed carry class where he learned to shoot a gun, but that all changed after he was denied the purchase.”

The detective wrote in court filings that despite his illegal immigrant status, “Mohamed has a valid Colorado driver's license.” The detective also said Soliman had no National Crime Information Center criminal history.

CBI says informing ICE is "automatic"

Questions remain about what exactly CBI did or did not tell ICE about Soliman’s effort to buy a gun last year.

Rob Low, the strategic communications director for the CBI, responded to an emailed inquiry from Just the News by sending a lengthy statement back and in a phone call with Just the News.

“While we can't comment on specific cases, the CBI can say that in any case where someone is denied a gun purchase due to their immigration status, ICE/Homeland Security would automatically be notified,” Low said in the emailed statement. “While the CBI can’t say directly why an individual’s application might be denied, the CBI can acknowledge applications can be denied based on someone’s immigration status. Under those circumstances the CBI will send ICE an electronic notification. Someone who is in the United States legally with no disqualifying criminal history is eligible to purchase a firearm in Colorado.”

Low insisted that “Colorado’s firearm background check system worked as designed when it comes to the actions of accused Boulder terrorism suspect Mohamed Sabry Soliman.”

Although not a "sanctuary state," in 2019, lawmakers passed HB19-1124, which grants protection to immigrants. The bill, among other things, prevents authorities from providing an individual’s immigration status to federal officials. 

The CBI “confirms that Soliman attempted to purchase a handgun at Scheels All Sports in Colorado Springs on November 22, 2024,” the statement said. “His application was processed through the CBI InstaCheck system, and shortly thereafter, Soliman’s attempted purchase was denied. He never appealed his denial.”

“This denial was based on information from the NCIS (National Instant Criminal Background Check System),” the statement read. “He would later be denied a Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP) through the CBI and El Paso County Sheriff’s Office on December 30, 2024.”

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to a request for comment from Just the News.

When he called Just the News on Monday, Low repeatedly said to “read between the lines” as Low pointed out that Soliman had said he was denied a gun due to his legal status and that CBI was saying that if someone is denied such a purchase due to their legal status, then that it is shared with ICE.

Low then emailed Just the News to add that the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services Division policies “prevent us from sharing criminal history information.”

It was reported by Colorado Public Radio News this month that “within minutes of that attempted gun purchase at a store in Colorado Springs, an automatic email notification was sent from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security advising them that a person without legal immigration status attempted to buy a firearm in Colorado” but that “there is no indication that anyone from Immigration and Customs Enforcement took action on that notification.”

A senior DHS official who declined to be named told Just the News that there is no record in the department's immigration records for Soliman that indicated Colorado contacted ICE.

The attack could have been stopped, critics say 

Rep. Jeff Crank, R-Colo., told the Just the News, No Noise podcast last week that Soliman’s attack should’ve been stopped by better communication and coordination by and within the state and federal governments.

“He applied and tried to get to buy a gun — the system worked. None of us, there’s nobody who is pro-Second Amendment who wants a non-citizen and a terrorist to get ahold of guns. They did a background check on him, and it came back and said, ‘No, you can’t buy a gun because you’re not a citizen.’ But guess what? The state of Colorado, [Democratic Governor] Jared Polis’s Colorado Bureau of Investigation, and Joe Biden’s FBI knew that he failed that background check. They knew it, but yet they didn’t pass that on to ICE and say, ‘Hey, get this guy out of the country, he’s trying to buy guns and he is here illegally.’ You would think that the American people would want our government to work together to get these kind of people out of our nation.”

Trump officials have repeatedly emphasized that Soliman was here illegally when he had conducted his attack — and that the Biden administration had previously allowed Soliman to stay longer even after he had overstayed a previous visa.

Soliman was born in Egypt in 1979, lived in Kuwait for 17 years, and then moved to Colorado Springs three years ago, according to Boulder detectives.

McLaughlin tweeted in early June that “the Colorado Terrorist attack suspect, Mohamed Soliman, is illegally in our country.” The DHS spokesperson said that Soliman “entered the country in August 2022 on a B2 visa that expired in February 2023” and that “he filed for asylum in September 2022.”

Soliman was reportedly granted a work permit after his B2 visa expired, and that work permit expired on March 28 of this year, according to ABC News, meaning he was in the U.S. illegally when he conducted his attack.

From expired tourist visa to being given a work permit

Soliman reportedly arrived in the U.S. by landing at Los Angeles International Airport in August 2022 with a non-immigrant visa, according to Fox News, and he was reportedly authorized to stay in the country through early February 2023, but did not leave as required. He had reportedly filed a claim with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in early September 2022. Soliman was granted a work authorization in late March 2023, but it expired in March of 2025.

White House key adviser Stephen Miller tweeted earlier this month that “the Biden Admin granted the alien a visa and then, when he illegally overstayed, they gave him a work permit.”

“A terror attack was committed in Boulder, Colorado by an illegal alien,” Miller said. “He was granted a tourist visa by the Biden Administration and then he illegally overstayed that visa. In response, the Biden Administration gave him a work permit. Suicidal migration must be fully reversed.”

Soliman said he researched YouTube on how to construct the Molotov cocktails, according to both Boulder police and the FBI.

Detective: "He wanted them all to die"

Mohamed had been planning this attack for the last year and was waiting for his oldest daughter to graduate from high school before completing the attack. She graduated last Thursday,” Solimani reportedly told Boulder police. “Mohamed expressed his hatred for the Zionist Organization as they support and fund the bombings that are taking place in Palestine. He said he searched for Zionist groups and found the one in Boulder which advertised their weekly marches down Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, Colorado every week on Sundays. The marches are to remember Israeli hostages in Gaza. Mohamed said he knew where they were meeting.”

The Boulder detective wrote that “Mohamed said he wanted them to all die and that was the plan. He said he would go back and do it again and had no regret doing what he did. Mohamed said anyone who supports the exist [sic] of Israel on ‘our land’ is Zionist. Mohamed clarified ‘our land’ was Palestine.”

FBI Special Agent Jessica Krueger relayed similar anti-Israel and pro-Palestine sentiments from the Egyptian, with Soliman stating that he had “specifically targeted” the “Zionist Group” and that “he hated the Zionist group and did this because he hated this group.” She said that “Soliman stated he would do it (conduct an attack) again.”

The FBI agent wrote that visible inside Soliman’s vehicle were red rags, gasoline, and paperwork with the words, “Israel,” “Palestine,” and “USAID.” The Boulder detective wrote that inside the vehicle were “what appeared to be cans of gasoline, rags, and a Quran.”

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced earlier this month that ICE had taken Soliman’s wife and family members into custody and that ICE is processing them to be deported.

“This terrorist will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Noem said in early June. “We are investigating to what extent his family knew about this heinous attack, if they had knowledge of it, or if they provided support to it. I am continuing to pray for the victims of this attack and their families. Justice will be served.”

The evidence now suggests that ICE should have been able to prevent Soliman from ever conducting the attack in the first place.