Colorado’s 8th Congressional District Representative Gabe Evans introduced a resolution on June 9 condemning the attack that occurred on Pearl Street in Boulder on June 1, and the resolution passed in the House of Representatives on a bipartisan vote. The resolution specifically condemns the suspect involved in the attack, Mohammed Sabry Soliman, for his “antisemitic terrorist attack,” for which he faces 118 state-level charges and federal hate crime charges.
The resolution states that “free and open communication between state and local law enforcement and their federal counterparts remains the bedrock of public safety and is necessary in preventing terrorist attacks.” The bill also expresses Evans’ gratitude to ICE and law enforcement officers for “protecting the homeland.”
The resolution says that the case of Soliman, an Egyptian national who was not legally residing in the United States, proves that the country needs to “aggressively vet aliens who apply for visas to determine whether they endorse, espouse, promote, or support antisemitic terrorism or engage in other antisemitic or anit-American activity.”
Democrat House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries denounced the bill for politically weaponizing antisemitism and called Evans “a joke.” 113 Democrats voted against Evans’ resolution, while a separate resolution led by Representative Jeff Van Drew condemning the Boulder attack passed the House by a vote of 400-0.
Representative Diane DeGette of Colorado’s first congressional district issued a press release on June 9 that stated: “I unequivocally condemn the attack in Boulder and the alarming rise in antisemitism. However, I could not support tonight’s resolution that exploits this incident to demonize migrants, celebrate ICE, and ignore the real concerns of Jewish Americans. It’s a shame the Republican majority would politicize this attack. This moment deserves better than political point-scoring.”
Van Drew’s resolution does not mention ICE or immigration enforcement, but instead calls upon local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to thoroughly investigate and prosecute acts of terrorism.
In a statement following the passage of his resolution, Evans called out Colorado for its “sanctuary state” policies and said the attack could have been prevented. “Soliman was an illegal immigrant residing in Colorado Springs, granted a valid driver’s license by the state DMV, and had multiple contacts with law enforcement prior to the attack — most notably when he tried to buy a gun and failed a background check.”
