DENVER — The wife and children of the suspect in a Molotov cocktail attack in June were flown back to Colorado after a frenetic weekend in which they were re-arrested by federal agents, then put on a plane to Detroit before a judge ordered the flight returned to Denver.
U.S. District Judge Fred Biery on Saturday issued an emergency order blocking the Trump administration from deporting members of Mohamed Sabry Soliman’s family, who were arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement hours after they arrived in Colorado following 10 months at a detention center in Dilley, Texas.
Attorney Eric Lee said Hayam El Gamal and her five children were sent to Detroit’s Willow Run Airport with plans to deport them “outside the United States to an unknown location,” but the family was flown back to Denver upon the judge’s order.
“ICE just released the El Gamal family,” Mr. Lee posted late Saturday on X. “What took place today can only be described as an extraordinary rendition. 5 kids/mom kidnapped by feds in violation of multiple court orders as punishment for crimes committed by someone else.”
He added: “A dark moment in US history. Mobilize now.”
U.S. District Judge Nina Wang for the District of Colorado also issued an order Saturday blocking ICE from removing the family from Colorado or the U.S. The children, who range in age from 5 to 18, and their parents are all Egyptian nationals.
Second federal judge (D. Colorado) bars Trump admin from removing the El Gamal family from Colorado or the United States. pic.twitter.com/Kq1ZUCmpgj
— Eric Lee (@EricLeeAtty) April 26, 2026
The Department of Homeland Security attempted to deport the family after Mr. Soliman was accused of throwing flaming Molotov cocktails at a crowd holding a June 1 walk in support of the Hamas-held hostages in Gaza on the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, Colorado.
Mr. Soliman, 45, a resident of Colorado Springs, faces more than 180 state counts, including attempted murder and first-degree murder for the death of 82-year-old Karen Diamond, who died of her injuries a month later. He has pleaded not guilty.
He was also indicted on 12 federal hate-crime counts. The indictment said he shouted “Free Palestine!” during the attack and told law enforcement that he wanted to take “revenge” on a “Zionist” event.
Since then, the Department of Homeland Security has sought to deport the family members, who arrived in 2022 on six-month tourist visas and applied for asylum.
“Mohammed Soliman is a terrorist responsible for an anti-Semitic firebombing in Boulder,” Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement.
She criticized Judge Biery, a Clinton appointee who sits on the federal bench in the Western District of Texas, as an “activist judge.”
“The family received full due process and was issued a final order of removal on December 29, 2025. They appealed the judge’s decision. The board of appeals upheld the final order of removal on April 22, 2026,” Ms. Bis said in the statement. “Despite receiving full due process, this activist judge appointed by Bill Clinton is releasing this terrorist’s family onto American streets AGAIN.”
Judge Biery on Thursday ordered the family members’ release from the Texas immigration facility, where they had been held for 10 months. The mother suffers from “health emergencies,” Mr. Lee said.
Rep. Greg Caesar, Texas Democrat, said the deportation attempt was “outrageous and undermines the rights of every single American family.”
“A federal judge ordered the Trump Administration not to detain or remove the El Gamal family,” Mr. Caesar posted Saturday on X. “ICE waited until the family had left Texas, then defied the judge’s order. If they can ignore a court order to go after this family, anyone could be next.”
Ms. Bis said the department believes the family will ultimately be deported.
“Under President Trump, DHS will continue to fight for the removal of those who have no right to be in our country — especially terrorists and their associates,” she said. “We are confident the courts will ultimately vindicate us.”
