On the False Narratives Around the Attack in Boulder, Colorado
Despite the attacker legally entering the country and overstaying a visa, many are now equating a “terrorist attack” with “the border.”
Just a few months ago, a U.S. citizen committed a terrorist attack in New Orleans by driving a truck into a crowd, killing several people and injuring dozens. Within hours, Trump officials were perpetrating a false narrative that the vehicle entered the country via the U.S.-Mexico border, a story quickly picked up by Fox News and far-right social media influencers who began equating the attack with Latino immigrants, the border, and the false narrative about “criminal” migrants.
Like the New Orleans attack, we once again find ourselves in an environment succumbing to believing speculative false narratives and disinformation about misunderstood issues. While one side of the political spectrum speculates about things that cause harm, like civilians possibly being deputized by ICE, the other side actively promotes ideas that it knows are harmful, like equating an attack related to the Palestine conflict with Latinos and nonwhite immigrants.
“For four years, the Biden Administration allowed millions of unvetted illegal aliens—including terrorists, gang members, and other violent criminals—to pour into our country. Yesterday’s terrorist attack by a suspect illegally in our country underscores the importance of getting these illegal aliens out of our country,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin via email. “Secretary Noem is revamping ICE’s illegal alien tip line to devote more resources and personnel to help remove these criminal illegal aliens from our country.”
The suspect, Mohammed Sabry Soliman, lawfully entered the country in 2022 on a B-2 tourist visa. He did not cross the border, nor is he Latino. Soliman overstayed his visa, like hundreds of thousands of others do each year (you never hear about them because a large portion of them are white people from Europe, Australia, and Canada). But that didn’t stop people like Chris Cuomo from equating everything about immigration with Latinos, and the border with Mexico.
What the longtime ex-news anchor highlighted was just how much bias exists in the news media, but is often hidden, thanks in large part to producers who seem to know better about what you can and can’t say on TV. However, now that many of these anchors are no longer part of legacy media and are now setting up newsletters, they expose their truth a little more fluidly. Others have said some pretty nasty things on TV and kept their jobs, spotlighting another major issue.
Meanwhile, as some argue about relating the attack to immigration, others are again sparking the debate about whether the attack was antisemitic or not. Much of the discussion revolves around the newer definition of antisemitism that equates Zionism with Judaism, which is antisemitic in itself. It’s what neo-Nazis and Klansmen have been doing for decades and it has detrimental effects on the global Jewish community because it waters the definition down.
"The Department of Justice has swiftly charged the illegal alien perpetrator of this heinous attack with a federal hate crime and will hold him accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi via a statement. “Our prayers are with the victims and our Jewish community across the world.”
While the goal may be to silence criticism of Israel, making false accusations of antisemtism has only created an environment where neo-Nazis can dismiss when they are rightfully called out for being anti-Jewish and weaponizing Zionism to do so. But weaponizing the concept of a “chosen people” to take land and steal resources is also a white supremacist idea dating back to the colonization of the Americas. It’s called Manifest Destiny.
To equate Zionism and Judaism has always been and still is antisemitic.
This brings us back to Soliman. He claims his attack was targeting supporters of Zionism and never mentioned Jewish people, according to authorities. While many lawmakers and pundits denounced the attack as antisemitic, it does not make it so. The debate, however, has taken attention away from the devastating crime itself and the victims of the horrifying attack.
At this point, it seems that most people rightfully agree that what Soliman did is a hate crime, regardless of his targets or motivations.
“Throughout the interview, Soliman stated that he hated the Zionist group and did this because he hated this group and needed to stop them from taking over 'our land,' which he explained to be Palestine,” reads the criminal complaint against Soliman. “He stated that he had been planning the attack for a year and was waiting until after his daughter graduated to conduct the attack.”
While it does help to identify what the motivations for attacks like this are, many times they are politicized and serve no other purpose than to villainize entire populations. Not only are pro-Palestinian protesters being thrown into the mix of the attack, but so are immigrants. Neither of which had anything to do with Soliman committing the attack. But that doesn’t stop the bigots in power or those pundits with massive platforms from spreading hate.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration, riddled with antisemites, is using the attack in the same cynical way it has used antisemitism as a weapon to silence dissent and target even more immigrants: equating the few criminal noncitizens it finds with all nonwhite immigrants. Sadly, far too many lawmakers and political pundits from both sides of the aisle will participate in the demonization, whether they realize they are doing it or not.
Hence, making claims about the attack before knowing all the facts. In today’s volatile environment, knowing the facts is more important than ever.
Arturo is an independent journalist whose work can be found at Unicorn Riot, The Antagonist Magazine, Latino Rebels, and more. Arturo is also on TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, and Threads. To support his work, become a paid subscriber or donate via Venmo, PayPal, or Cash App.
Seems like when an immigrant or someone who isn’t white commits a crime all the dog whistles come out, equating that crime with all immigrants thus feeding the racist narrative. These third rank media types like Cuomo it’s to have his five minutes of fame, to give him some relevance. Folks who have overstayed their visas should face the same consequences undocumented immigrants do, but it won’t fit their the regime’s narrative. That’s where this country is today.
Something seems VERY off and fishy about this story and 'said' attack.