Latest news with #ElGamal
The Hindu
03-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Judge ends order blocking deportation of family of man charged in Boulder firebomb attack
A federal Judge on Wednesday (July 2, 2025) ended an order blocking the deportation of the family of the man charged in the fatal firebomb attack in Boulder, Colorado, noting government lawyers say the man's relatives are not being rushed out of the country as the White House originally stated. Hayam El Gamal and her five children were detained by immigration agents on June 3, two days after her husband Mohamed Sabry Soliman was accused of throwing two Molotov cocktails at people demonstrating for awareness of Israeli hostages in Gaza. Prosecutors announced on Monday (June 30, 2025) that an 82-year-old woman who was injured in the attack had died. U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garica dismissed the family's lawsuit challenging their detention by immigration authorities. The ruling noted that Ms. El Gamal and her children ages 4 to 18 are not eligible for expedited deportations because they have been in the country for over two years, which he said lawyers for the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement have acknowledged. Mr. Soliman is an Egyptian national who federal authorities say was living in the U.S. illegally. He is being prosecuted in both State and Federal Court for the attack, which prosecutors say injured a total of 13 people. Investigators say he planned the attack for a year and was driven by a desire 'to kill all Zionist people.' He has pleaded not guilty to federal hate crimes charges but hasn't been asked to enter a plea in the state case, which now includes a murder charge. On the day El Gamal and her children were arrested, the White House said in social media posts that they 'COULD BE DEPORTED AS EARLY AS TONIGHT' and that six one-way tickets had been purchased for them, with their 'final boarding call coming soon." Those statements led a federal judge in Colorado to issue an emergency order temporarily blocking the family's deportation, Mr. Garcia said. The case was later transferred to Texas, where the family is being held in an immigration detention center for families. Mr. Garcia is based in San Antonio. Because the family is in regular deportation proceedings, there is no longer any reason to block their deportation, Mr. Garcia said. Regular proceedings can take months or even years if decisions are appealed. He also turned down the family's request to be released from the detention center in the meantime, saying they can pursue release through the normal bond process in the immigration system. Lawyers for the family had challenged their detention as unconstitutional because they said it was intended to punish them for Mr. Soliman's actions. According to a court filing by Ms. El Gamal's lawyers, one of the immigration agents who arrested them told her, 'You have to pay for the consequences of what you did.' Mr. Garcia said immigration authorities have discretion in deciding who to detain and he did not have authority to review their decision to detain Ms. El Gamal and her children. Lawyers for the government said they are being lawfully held because they are accused of overstaying their visas. One of the family's attorneys, Niels Frenzen, said they hoped to get the family released from the detention center while the deportation proceedings continue. An email seeking comment from the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement was not immediately returned.
NBC News
03-07-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Judge ends order blocking deportation of Boulder firebomb attack suspect's family
DENVER — A federal judge on Wednesday ended an order blocking the deportation of the family of the man charged in the fatal firebomb attack in Boulder, Colorado, noting government lawyers say the man's relatives are not being rushed out of the country as the White House originally stated. Hayam El Gamal and her five children were detained by immigration agents on June 3, two days after her husband Mohamed Sabry Soliman was accused of throwing two Molotov cocktails at people demonstrating for awareness of Israeli hostages in Gaza. Prosecutors announced Monday that an 82-year-old woman who was injured in the attack had died. U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garica dismissed the family's lawsuit challenging their detention by immigration authorities. The ruling noted that El Gamal and her children ages 4 to 18 are not eligible for expedited deportations because they have been in the country for over two years, which he said lawyers for the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement have acknowledged. Soliman is an Egyptian national who federal authorities say was living in the U.S. illegally. He is being prosecuted in both state and federal court for the attack, which prosecutors say injured a total of 13 people. Investigators say he planned the attack for a year and was driven by a desire "to kill all Zionist people." He has pleaded not guilty to federal hate crimes charges but hasn't been asked to enter a plea in the state case, which now includes a murder charge. On the day El Gamal and her children were arrested, the White House said in social media posts that they "COULD BE DEPORTED AS EARLY AS TONIGHT" and that six one-way tickets had been purchased for them, with their "final boarding call coming soon." Those statements led a federal judge in Colorado to issue an emergency order temporarily blocking the family's deportation, Garcia said. The case was later transferred to Texas, where the family is being held in an immigration detention center for families. Garcia is based in San Antonio. Because the family is in regular deportation proceedings, there is no longer any reason to block their deportation, Garcia said. Regular proceedings can take months or even years if decisions are appealed. He also turned down the family's request to be released from the detention center in the meantime, saying they can pursue release through the normal bond process in the immigration system. Lawyers for the family had challenged their detention as unconstitutional because they said it was intended to punish them for Soliman's actions. According to a court filing by El Gamal's lawyers, one of the immigration agents who arrested them told her, "You have to pay for the consequences of what you did." Garcia said immigration authorities have discretion in deciding who to detain and he did not have authority to review their decision to detain El Gamal and her children. Lawyers for the government said they are being lawfully held because they are accused of overstaying their visas. One of the family's attorneys, Niels Frenzen, said they hoped to get the family released from the detention center while the deportation proceedings continue.
San Francisco Chronicle
02-07-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Judge ends order blocking deportation of family of man charged in Boulder firebomb attack
DENVER (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday ended an order blocking the deportation of the family of the man charged in the fatal firebomb attack in Boulder, Colorado, noting government lawyers say the man's relatives are not being rushed out of the country as the White House originally stated. Hayam El Gamal and her five children were detained by immigration agents on June 3, two days after her husband Mohamed Sabry Soliman was accused of throwing two Molotov cocktails at people demonstrating for awareness of Israeli hostages in Gaza. Prosecutors announced Monday that an 82-year-old woman who was injured in the attack had died. U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garica dismissed the family's lawsuit challenging their detention by immigration authorities. The ruling noted that El Gamal and her children ages 4 to 18 are not eligible for expedited deportations because they have been in the country for over two years, which he said lawyers for the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement have acknowledged. Soliman is an Egyptian national who federal authorities say was living in the U.S. illegally. He is being prosecuted in both state and federal court for the attack, which prosecutors say injured a total of 13 people. Investigators say he planned the attack for a year and was driven by a desire 'to kill all Zionist people.' He has pleaded not guilty to federal hate crimes charges but hasn't been asked to enter a plea in the state case, which now includes a murder charge. On the day El Gamal and her children were arrested, the White House said in social media posts that they 'COULD BE DEPORTED AS EARLY AS TONIGHT' and that six one-way tickets had been purchased for them, with their 'final boarding call coming soon." Those statements led a federal judge in Colorado to issue an emergency order temporarily blocking the family's deportation, Garcia said. The case was later transferred to Texas, where the family is being held in an immigration detention center for families. Garcia is based in San Antonio. Because the family is in regular deportation proceedings, there is no longer any reason to block their deportation, Garcia said. Regular proceedings can take months or even years if decisions are appealed. He also turned down the family's request to be released from the detention center in the meantime, saying they can pursue release through the normal bond process in the immigration system. Lawyers for the family had challenged their detention as unconstitutional because they said it was intended to punish them for Soliman's actions. According to a court filing by El Gamal's lawyers, one of the immigration agents who arrested them told her, 'You have to pay for the consequences of what you did.' Garcia said immigration authorities have discretion in deciding who to detain and he did not have authority to review their decision to detain El Gamal and her children. Lawyers for the government said they are being lawfully held because they are accused of overstaying their visas. One of the family's attorneys, Niels Frenzen, said they hoped to get the family released from the detention center while the deportation proceedings continue.
Winnipeg Free Press
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Judge ends order blocking deportation of family of man charged in Boulder firebomb attack
DENVER (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday ended an order blocking the deportation of the family of the man charged in the fatal firebomb attack in Boulder, Colorado, noting government lawyers say the man's relatives are not being rushed out of the country as the White House originally stated. Hayam El Gamal and her five children were detained by immigration agents on June 3, two days after her husband Mohamed Sabry Soliman was accused of throwing two Molotov cocktails at people demonstrating for awareness of Israeli hostages in Gaza. Prosecutors announced Monday that an 82-year-old woman who was injured in the attack had died. U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garica dismissed the family's lawsuit challenging their detention by immigration authorities. The ruling noted that El Gamal and her children ages 4 to 18 are not eligible for expedited deportations because they have been in the country for over two years, which he said lawyers for the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement have acknowledged. Soliman is an Egyptian national who federal authorities say was living in the U.S. illegally. He is being prosecuted in both state and federal court for the attack, which prosecutors say injured a total of 13 people. Investigators say he planned the attack for a year and was driven by a desire 'to kill all Zionist people.' He has pleaded not guilty to federal hate crimes charges but hasn't been asked to enter a plea in the state case, which now includes a murder charge. On the day El Gamal and her children were arrested, the White House said in social media posts that they 'COULD BE DEPORTED AS EARLY AS TONIGHT' and that six one-way tickets had been purchased for them, with their 'final boarding call coming soon.' Those statements led a federal judge in Colorado to issue an emergency order temporarily blocking the family's deportation, Garcia said. The case was later transferred to Texas, where the family is being held in an immigration detention center for families. Garcia is based in San Antonio. Because the family is in regular deportation proceedings, there is no longer any reason to block their deportation, Garcia said. Regular proceedings can take months or even years if decisions are appealed. He also turned down the family's request to be released from the detention center in the meantime, saying they can pursue release through the normal bond process in the immigration system. Lawyers for the family had challenged their detention as unconstitutional because they said it was intended to punish them for Soliman's actions. According to a court filing by El Gamal's lawyers, one of the immigration agents who arrested them told her, 'You have to pay for the consequences of what you did.' Garcia said immigration authorities have discretion in deciding who to detain and he did not have authority to review their decision to detain El Gamal and her children. Lawyers for the government said they are being lawfully held because they are accused of overstaying their visas. One of the family's attorneys, Niels Frenzen, said they hoped to get the family released from the detention center while the deportation proceedings continue. An email seeking comment from the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement was not immediately returned.
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hate crime case against Boulder suspect can go forward, judge rules
A federal judge has ruled there is enough evidence to proceed with a hate crime case against a man accused of injuring more than a dozen people after lobbing Molotov cocktails at people in Boulder, Colorado who were supporting Israeli hostages in Gaza. Fifteen people ages 52 to 88 were injured with burns ranging from serious to minor when Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, launched the attack, authorities say. He lived in Colorado Springs, Colorado, after coming to the United States on a tourist visa in late 2022 and staying after it expired. Soliman faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if he's found guilty of the federal hate crime charges against him. The native of Egypt also has been charged in state court with 118 criminal counts, including attempted murder and other offenses. He sat expressionless June 18 in federal court in Denver. A city rattled: Divisions deepen in wealthy, liberal Boulder after antisemitic attack Soliman is accused of lobbing Molotov cocktails and using a makeshift flamethrower to target Run for Their Lives, a group advocating for the release of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas and held in Gaza for more than 20 months. The attack in Boulder came less than two weeks after two Israeli Embassy staff members were shot to death in Washington, D.C., amid a rise in antisemitism incidents across the United States and as tensions have escalated over the war in Gaza, prompted by a brutal Hamas-led assault on Israeli border communities Oct. 7, 2023. Soliman said "he wanted them to all die. ... He said he would go back and do it again and had no regret doing what he did," Boulder Detective John Sailer wrote in court papers. Soliman said that, to him, anyone who supported the existence of Israel on "our land" is a Zionist. He defined "our land" as Palestine, court documents said. Soliman hurled two of the 18 Molotov cocktails he'd brought with him, authorities said, yelling "Free Palestine." A federal affidavit charging Soliman with a hate crime and attempted murder says he learned about the march from an online search. He said he waited for his daughter to graduate from high school before executing the plot, according to the affidavit. He hoped to use a gun and had taken shooting classes, but his immigration status prevented him from purchasing a firearm, the affidavit says. In her first public statement, Soliman's wife, Hayam El Gamal, who along with her five children is being held at a family detention facility in south Texas, said they are "in total shock.'' El Gamal and the children, now ages 4 to 18, were arrested by immigration agents June 3, and the White House said they would be subjected to expedited deportation. But a federal judge in Denver blocked that move the next day, saying they were entitled to due process. By then the family had been transferred to the detention facility in Texas, where the case will be heard. 'We are grieving, and we are suffering,'' El Gamal said in social media remarks posted June 18. "We are treated like animals by the officers, who told us we are being punished for what my husband is accused of doing.'' El Gamal said the family has been cooperating with authorities, and she expressed concern for both the victims of the attack and her children's well-being. El Gamal made the comments through Eric Lee, the lawyer representing her and the children, who posted them to his X account. Lee added that a federal judge extended a temporary restraining order keeping the Trump administration from deporting the family, who came to the United States from Kuwait in 2022 and sought asylum. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The national organization Run for Their Lives has sponsored walks and runs in hundreds of cities since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack in Israel, the deadliest on Jews since the Holocaust, as about 1,200 people were killed and 240 were taken hostage by Hamas. The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza says more than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed since the onset of the war, which Israel launched in response to the attack. Contributing: Phaedra Trethan, Michael Loria and Trevor Hughes This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hate crime case against Boulder suspect can go forward, judge rules
