By Brad Brooks and Joseph Ax
(Reuters) -The man charged with fire-bombing a Colorado march by people who wanted to raise awareness of Israeli hostages in Gaza is scheduled to be formally charged in state court on Thursday, as those he targeted vowed to carry on their efforts.
State prosecutors say Mohamed Soliman, 45, faces nearly 400 years in prison on attempted murder charges in state court. He also faces other state charges.
Prosecutors on Wednesday said the number of people injured in the attack rose to 15 ranging in age from 25 to 88. A dog also was injured.
Soliman also faces federal hate crimes charges that carry a life sentence. A federal court appearance is scheduled for Friday.
The Boulder public defenders office, listed in court documents as representing Soliman, did not respond to a request for comment.
Prosecutors say that Soliman, an Egyptian national, on Sunday tossed Molotov cocktails and yelled “Free Palestine” at people taking part in an event organized by Run for Their Lives, an organization devoted to drawing attention to the hostages seized during Hamas’ 2023 attack on Israel.
Soliman entered the U.S. on a tourist visa in 2022 and recently lived in Colorado Springs. Federal officials say he had overstayed that tourist visa and his work permit had expired, and was in the country illegally.
His family, including his wife, two teenagers and three younger children, were taken into custody on Tuesday and may be deported, though a federal judge on Wednesday blocked their immediate removal.
The attack was the latest act of violence aimed at Jewish Americans amid Israel’s escalating military offensive in Gaza. It followed the fatal shooting of two Israeli Embassy aides that took place outside Washington’s Capital Jewish Museum last month.
WALK ON
Shira Weiss, the global coordinator for the Run for Their Lives grassroots movement, said the Boulder attack had stunned her organization, which has 230 chapters around the globe.
Weiss said it was bewildering why the organization – which she said is apolitical, aims to stay out of policy arguments and that had never threatened before – was targeted by Soliman.
“This is so sad that we were trying to do something positive and something good, and this horrible thing happened,” she said.
Following the attack Weiss asked local chapters to pause their short weekly walks, but overwhelmingly heard back that people wanted to carry on.
About 80% of chapters will hold their weekly walks as scheduled this weekend. That includes a Sunday walk in Boulder, which will coincide with the city’s 30th annual Jewish festival, which organizers said would go on with heightened security measures and a focus on the efforts of Run for Their Lives.
Weiss has received 20 inquiries about starting new chapters since the attack in Boulder, and has also seen an increase in the number of people wanting to walk with existing groups.
Maya Bajayo, organizer for the Denver chapter of Run for Their Lives, said the group will join the Boulder chapter on its Sunday walk. Despite anxieties about security, she expects that all 50 regular members of her group would participate.
(Reporting by Brad Brooks in Kansas and Joseph Ax in New York; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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