The wife and five children of Mohamed Sabry Soliman, the main suspect in the Colorado attack against a vigil for the Israeli hostages, have been taken into federal custody, sources from the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement told Fox News and CNN on Tuesday.
Soliman, an Egyptian national, did not have legal status to be in the United States as his documentation expired in March.
In a post on X/Twitter, the White House announced that his family will be deported, potentially as soon as Tuesday evening.
Six One-Way Tickets for Mohamed’s Wife and Five Kids. Final Boarding Call Coming Soon. ✈️ pic.twitter.com/R32j1Ic8Ml
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 3, 2025
Soliman arrived in the United States in 2022 with a non-immigration visa that would have allowed him to stay until February 2023, according to the Homeland Security Department.
He was later granted work authorization in March 2023, which should have allowed him to stay in the US only until March 2025.
Despite being granted access to the states in 2022, he had a failed asylum claim in 2005, sources told CNN.
Assistant Secretary of DHS Tricia McLaughlin said Soliman had tried to claim asylum in 2022.
The antisemitic Boulder attack in Colorado
During an interview with police, Soliman confirmed he had planned the attack for a year and had waited until his daughter graduated from university before carrying it out.
On Sunday, he wounded 12 people with Molotov cocktails and an improvised flamethrower. The individuals had been attending a vigil for the 58 hostages in Hamas captivity.
Soliman, who was heard screaming “Free Palestine” and “end Zionism” before launching the attack.
He is currently being held on a $10 million bond.