Boulder firebombing suspect’s family can be deported, court says

Bomb squads set up a staging area following an incident involving multiple injuries that the FBI is investigating as an act of terror on June 1, 2025 in Boulder, Colorado. A suspect is in custody after reportedly throwing an incendiary device at a group participating in an organized walk near the courthouse to show solidarity with hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Photo by Chet Strange/Getty Images

(JTA) — A federal court ruled that the family of a man charged in the firebombing of a demonstration in Boulder, Colorado in support of the Israeli hostages can be deported.

The suspect, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, who is an Egyptian national, and his wife and five children were living in the United States illegally. The family was detained by ICE two days after the June 1 attack. 

Wednesday’s ruling overturns a previous district court ruling blocking the family’s deportation. 

“This is a proper end to an absurd legal effort on the plaintiff’s part. Just like her terrorist husband, she and her children are here illegally and are rightfully in ICE custody for removal as a result,” said Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security,  in a statement. 

“This terrorist will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. 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,” the statement continued.

Soliman’s family is currently being held in a detention center in Texas.

Lawyers for the family argued their detention was unconstitutional because they said it was intended to punish them for Soliman’s actions.

The decision comes one week after the death of 82-year-old firebombing victim Karen Diamond, Soliman currently faces over 70 charges for the firebombing attack, including first-degree murder, first-degree assault and 12 counts of committing a hate crime.