Judge sides with family of Boulder attack suspect

DENVER, Colo. — A federal judge in Denver on Thursday ruled that the deportation case for the wife and five children of Mohamed Soliman, charged with a hate crime after the June 1 firebomb attack on marchers in Boulder, will be heard in the Western District of Texas, not Colorado.

According to our news partners at The Gazette, U.S. District Judge Gordon P. Gallagher of Colorado on June 4 granted an emergency request filed by lawyers representing the family, asking to temporarily halt deportation proceedings for Soliman's wife, Hayam El Gamal, and their children.

Eric Lee, one of the attorneys representing the Soliman family, told The Gazette the recent order was a victory for them in several ways. The defense team were prepared to argue their case in federal court Friday, but the Denver hearing has since been vacated with Gallagher's most recent order.

"We get to continue to fight on the merits, which is our assertion that the basis for detaining his family is totally illegal, that individuals in this country cannot be held responsible and detained for the allegations of criminal for criminal allegations against their relatives," Lee said.

"That's a core bedrock principle underlying American democracy, and so we live to fight another day on that issue."

The Gazette reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for a statement regarding the order but did not receive an immediate response.

According to Lee, an immediate deportation of the family would have been a violation of due process, since they have lived in the U.S. for over two years and still have a pending asylum claim.

Hours after the family was detained on June 3, the White House's official X account posted that the family was being processed for expedited removal, claiming they could be deported as early as that night.

Lee said of the tweets that the judge's ruling indicates the court has expressed "real concern with the fact that the government was totally unable of explaining the tweets from the White House."

Soliman, 45, is accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at a group participating in a peaceful demonstration on the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder on June 1, injuring 15 people and a dog.

Soliman was taken into custody shortly after police arrived, and his family taken into custody the following day. Before filing the initial petition to halt their deportation, Soliman's wife reported to the petitioner in the civil case, Denver-based immigration lawyer Susanna Dvortsin, that she and her children were in ICE custody in Florence as of 11:45 a.m. June 3.

On the evening of June 3, "a group of four of five officers" picked up the family from Florence and drove them to an unspecified Denver-area airport.

Soliman's wife and children were then flown to San Antonio, Texas, arriving shortly before midnight. From there, the family was taken to ICE's Dilley Detention Center, arriving between 2 and 2:30 a.m.

The petition to halt the family's immediate removal was filed at 1:45 a.m. CDT on June 4, meaning it had been filed by the time the family arrived, making the Western District of Texas the relevant jurisdiction, not Colorado.

The Thursday order states there "is no indication the Government purpose in relocating (the family) was concealment." In addition, the order states the motivation for the transfer was "innocent" and was done because the Dilley facility is better equipped to hold families.

While Colorado Springs private immigration attorney Stephanie Izaguirre said she doesn't think moving the case to Texas will change much on the legal front, it is a sign that due process is being followed.

"I think even if people think that the law supports this family being deported, I think surely everyone in America is in favor of due process," Izaguirre said.

Lee confirmed the Soliman family remained in Dilley as of Thursday and they have been housed together, but that the young children are "not doing OK."

"This is extraordinarily traumatizing experience for them," Lee said. "No 4-year-old child should spend so much as five minutes in the federal custody of ICE agents for something that they didn't do."

"This is a great scar on American history, and we're trying to make it right as quickly as possible," Lee said.

Lee told The Gazette he volunteered to represent the family free in this case.

In the conversation with The Gazette, Lee spoke critically of President Donald Trump and his administration.

"There's no reason whatsoever for continuing to detain them, aside from the vindictive and illegal aims of this president, who appears based on all of his actions, intent on essentially eliminating the basic democratic rights of the entire American population and establishing a dictatorship," Lee said.

In both state and federal arrest affidavits for Mohamed Soliman, it appears his family had no knowledge of his violent intentions in Boulder. In one affidavit, investigators note that El Gamal was observed leaving their home and driving to a Colorado Springs police station shortly after the news of the attack broke.

"This family has been cooperating with the authorities to try and help them get to the bottom of this terrible crime. The family itself had no idea. This has come as a great shock to everybody involved," Lee said.

An affidavit released by authorities detailed how Soliman allegedly prepared for the attack over the past year. He told authorities he was waiting for his eldest daughter to graduate from high school to carry out his plan.

The daughter graduated on May 29. The Gazette published an article earlier this year regarding Soliman's daughter, Habiba Soliman, and a scholarship she won through the Gazette Charities Foundation. After the news of her father's alleged actions broke, social media posts on X disparaged the girl.

"I think it's really unfortunate to blame a child for the actions of their parents," Izaguirre said. "I don't think there's any evidence to indicate that she had any idea what the father was doing, so it sounds to me like she's innocent here."

Lee was unable to speak much of the discourse surrounding the eldest daughter as he has not been made aware of it.

"I would say that any Republican who endorsed, participated, or supported the criminal insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021, has absolutely no right to comment on the legality or illegality of actions of other persons in the United States," Lee said.

Soliman, his wife and children first came to the U.S. on Aug. 27, 2022, on a B2 tourist visa that expired the following February. On Sept. 29, 2022, Soliman filed for asylum, listing his wife and five children as dependents, in Denver. To file for asylum, the individual must be present in the country.

In March 2023, Soliman was granted work authorization. If an asylum application is pending for more than 180 days, the person who filed the claim would have qualified for a work permit until final adjudication. Federal law enforcement officials have confirmed the work visa has only recently expired.

Thursday's order reveals El Gamal is a network engineer with a pending EB-2 visa, which is available to "professionals with advanced degrees."

As of Thursday, the asylum claim is still pending. Lee was unable to speak on what the basis of the asylum claim was because he has yet to be provided access to it.

"What I will say is that it is extremely unusual, if not entirely unprecedented, to detain individuals who have committed no crime, whose only immigration offense is over staying a visa, who had pending asylum applications," Lee said.

According to Lee, El Gamal has received a notice to appear for immigration proceedings, but was unable to provide any more details on the matter.

It remains unclear when the Soliman family will have their day in court in Texas. The Colorado case has not been dismissed as of Thursday.

Of the 118 counts Soliman faces on the state level, 62 were for crimes committed against the victims. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Denver also is charging Soliman with a hate crime, which, if he is convicted, could result in life in prison.

Soliman's next state court appearance is scheduled for July 15. A preliminary hearing in federal court is scheduled for next Wednesday.

The Gazette's Mackenzie Bodell contributed to this web story.

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