The FBI and Department of Homeland Security warned of an “elevated threat” to the U.S. Jewish community following an attack last weekend in Boulder, Colorado, and last month’s killing of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington.
In a bulletin issued on Thursday, the agencies said that the Israel-Hamas conflict “may motivate other violent extremists and hate crime perpetrators with similar grievances to conduct violence against Jewish and Israeli communities and their supporters.”
“Foreign terrorist organizations also may try to exploit narratives related to the conflict to inspire attacks in the United States. The FBI and DHS therefore urge the public to remain vigilant and to report any threats of violence or suspicious activity to law enforcement,” the joint statement added.
As Jack Phillips report for The Epoch Times, the statement made references to both the Boulder attack, in which an Egyptian national and illegal immigrant allegedly threw Molotov cocktails at people who were protesting in solidarity with Israel and sought the release of Israeli hostages in the conflict. Prosecutors said that 15 people were injured in the incident.
Mohamed Soliman, the suspect, allegedly yelled “free Palestine” during the attack, federal officials have said.
Prosecutors also said that Soliman told officials that he “wanted to kill all Zionist people” and that he also expressed no regret about the attack.
Soliman was charged with a federal hate crime, as well as 118 state charges, including attempted murder, use of an incendiary device, and assault. He has not entered a plea in the two cases against him.
Federal authorities have said Soliman has been living in the United States illegally. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on Wednesday that his family was being processed for removal, though a federal judge later stopped their deportation.
Before moving to Colorado Springs three years ago, Soliman spent 17 years in Kuwait, according to court documents.
The FBI and DHS notice Thursday also made reference to the attack in Washington, where suspect Elias Rodriguez shot and killed two Israeli embassy staffers after they attended an event at the Capitol Jewish Museum. Video footage and charging documents said that Rodriguez yelled “free, free Palestine” while he was being arrested and handcuffed.
The two staffers, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, were a young couple who had worked at the embassy. Lischinsky was an Israeli national and Milgrim was a U.S. citizen from Kansas, family members have said.
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino has described both the Washington and Boulder attacks as terrorist acts.
“We are investigating this incident as an act of terror, and targeted violence. All of the necessary assets will be dedicated to this investigation,” Bongino said in a statement on the social media platform X this week, in reference to the Boulder attack.
“If you have any investigative tips please contact the FBI. And if you aided or abetted this attack, we will find you. You cannot hide.”
Later in the notice, the FBI asked people to “promptly report information concerning suspicious activity” to the FBI’s tip website or local field offices.
