The Trump administration’s goal of deporting the ex-wife and children of the man who carried out an antisemitic attack on Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall last year could ultimately derail the federal criminal case against the man, a federal judge said Thursday.
Senior Judge John Kane declined to issue an order blocking the deportation of Mohamed Soliman’s family during a Thursday hearing in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, finding he likely did not have the jurisdiction to do so. But he repeatedly expressed frustration that federal prosecutors could not guarantee the family would remain in the U.S. to participate in the case against Soliman, the 46-year-old man who killed one woman and burned 13 others in a June 1 attack on Boulder’s popular pedestrian mall.
Soliman’s attorneys argued the family members are likely to be key witnesses should federal prosecutors pursue the death penalty against Soliman, and asked Kane to order they remain in the U.S. while the criminal case is pending. Kane repeatedly urged prosecutors to keep the family in the country and noted it would be much more expensive and difficult to call them as witnesses should they be deported.
Ultimately, if Soliman’s family were to be deported and then become unreachable, it could result in the dismissal of the federal hate crime charges against him, the judge said.
“If you are prevented, by government action, from presenting a fair defense to these charges, that results in dismissal,” the judge told defense attorneys Thursday. “… There is a risk of depriving the defense of the opportunities to prepare and present a defense.”
Federal prosecutor Melissa Hindman said the government is still considering whether or not to pursue the death penalty against Soliman, and that she expected a decision to be made by an October speedy trial deadline. She told the judge she had no authority to keep Soliman’s family in the country but noted that immigration judges have so far stopped their deportation.
Kane encouraged her to consult with other branches of the federal government.
“Your responsibility is not confined to the Department of Justice,” the judge said. “I am asking what you can do to do justice. To keep these people here.”
The judge ultimately ordered both sides to return to court in two weeks, giving them time to consult with each other and time for defense attorneys to try to interview Soliman’s family, who are currently free in Colorado.
The Trump administration has aggressively pursued the deportation of Soliman’s ex-wife, Hayam El Gamal, and the couple’s five children since the attack. When El Gamal and the children were taken into immigration custody two days after the Boulder attack, then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem vowed online that the family would be deported “as early as tonight.”
The family instead spent 10 months in a Texas detention facility before they were briefly released in April, then taken back into custody, then released again — all within the span of four days. El Gamal and Soliman divorced in April.
Soliman has already been convicted of first-degree murder and 100 other crimes in the fire attack in state court. He was last week sentenced to life in prison for the state crimes, but still faces the pending federal hate crime charges.
David Kraut, one of Soliman’s attorneys, reiterated in court Thursday that Soliman would plead guilty to the federal charges if prosecutors agreed not to pursue the death penalty. Such a guilty plea would eliminate the need for his family to testify in court.
“If the government does not seek the death penalty, this case would be closed as quickly as possible with no further expenses or litigation, as Mr. Soliman has repeatedly offered,” Kraut said.
During his sentencing in state court, Soliman urged federal authorities to bring the death penalty and apologized for the attack.
Soliman used a makeshift flamethrower and Molotov cocktails to burn people who had gathered on Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall for a weekly demonstration urging the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas.
Soliman, who was born in Egypt and lived in Kuwait for 17 years, arrived in the U.S. in August 2022 on a tourist visa that expired in February 2023. He overstayed his visa and sought political asylum in September 2022. He and his family settled in the Colorado Springs area.
Soliman received permission to stay in the United States in February 2023 while his asylum application was pending, according to the motion, and received a work permit in March 2023. El Gamal also received authorization to work.
