The family of Colorado terror suspect Mohamed Sabry Soliman will not be deported from the United States for the time being after a Biden-appointed judge put a halt to their immediate deportation on Wednesday.
Soliman’s wife, Hayam Salah Alsaid Ahmed Elgamal, 41, their daughter Habiba Mohamed Sabry Farag Soliman, 18, two more minor daughters and two minor sons were all detained earlier this week until the judge stepped in.
“Defendants SHALL NOT REMOVE Hayem El Gamal and her five children from … the United States unless and until this Court or Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit vacates this Order,” U.S. District Court Judge Gordon Gallagher, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, said in his order.
The family first came to the United States from Egypt in 2022, but were only permitted to stay until February 2023, the Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday.
Soliman, 45, filed for asylum on September 29, 2022, and listed his wife and their five children as dependents in Denver, according to the department.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem stated that investigators are working to determine whether Soliman’s family had any prior knowledge of the attack after they were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Tuesday.
Soliman is accused of using Molotov cocktails to attack pro-Israel demonstrators who were marching to demand the release of Israel hostages currently held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. A total of 15 people were injured in the attack, some of them seriously.
Footage from the scene shows Soliman yelling “Free Palestine” and “End Zionists” before he was detained without further incident.
Soliman will appear before a Colorado judge Thursday to hear the avalanche of charges he could face. Those charges include 16 counts of attempted murder, 18 counts of possession of incendiary devices and related offenses, Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said. The attempted murder counts alone are punishable by up to 384 years in prison, he said.
He also faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if found guilty on a federal hate crime charge.