The man accused of using a makeshift flamethrower and molotov cocktails to attack a demonstration in support of hostages in Gaza originally planned to use a gun, according to Boulder County officials.

Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said in a press conference Monday afternoon that Mohamed Sabry Soliman attempted to purchase a gun to attack demonstrators, but was blocked by gun laws.

Soliman planned the attack for at least a year, according to authorities. His initial plan involved using a firearm. He took a concealed carry class to learn how to shoot. But when he attempted to buy a gun, he was stopped because his visa had expired, Dougherty said.

Documents filed in a state court say that Soliman “had to use Molotov cocktails after he was denied the purchase of a gun due to him not being a legal citizen,” according to ABC News.

Soliman “researched on YouTube how to make Molotov Cocktails, purchased the ingredients to do so, and constructed them,” the documents say.

The suspect is an Egyptian national who is in the United States illegally, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Department spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said Monday that Soliman is in the United States on an expired visa.

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“The Colorado Terrorist attack suspect, Mohamed Soliman, is illegally in our country,” said McLaughlin. “He entered the country in August 2022 on a B2 visa that expired on February 2023. He filed for asylum in September 2022.”

Boulder County prosecutors have charged Soliman with 16 counts of first degree murder, as well as using incendiary devices to commit a felony and assault. Soliman faces over 600 years in prison if convicted on all charges, according to Dougherty.

Soliman allegedly attacked the group of demonstrators with a makeshift flamethrower and firebombs. A dozen people so far have reported injuries from the attack. None of the victims have died.

FBI Director Kash Patel called the incident a “targeted terror attack.” Federal prosecutors have charged Soliman with a hate crime.

Soliman told investigators that “he wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead.” The suspect said that “this had nothing to do with the Jewish community and was specific in the Zionist group supporting the killings of people on his land,” according to court documents.

A key group of fiscal conservatives is calling on the GOP-led House to immediately get to work on passing President Donald Trump’s first second-term rescissions package slated to be sent to Congress this week.

In an “Official Position” released Monday, the House Freedom Caucus argued that codifying spending cuts sought by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative should be a top priority for lawmakers, who just returned to Capitol Hill after the Memorial Day recess.

“When the White House submits its first rescissions package to enact DOGE spending cuts to Congress, the House of Representatives should immediately move this to the floor for swift passage,” the group said. “The House Freedom Caucus strongly supports these critical rescissions, and we will support as many more rescissions packages the White House can send us in the coming weeks and months.”

Altogether, the rescissions package is expected to cover roughly $9.4 billion. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides funds to NPR and PBS, as well as foreign aid are slated to be the targets of the first request to claw back funds appropriated by Congress. More rescissions packages could follow.

“These first DOGE cuts target taxpayer-funded public broadcasters notorious for their liberal bias like NPR and PBS, as well as billions in wasteful foreign aid dollars. Passing this rescissions package will be an important demonstration of Congress’s willingness to deliver on DOGE and the Trump agenda,” the House Freedom Caucus said.

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“While the Swamp will inevitably attempt to slow and kill these cuts, there is no excuse for a Republican House not to advance the first DOGE rescissions package the same week it is presented to Congress then quickly send it for passage in the Republican Senate so President Trump can sign it into law,” the group added.

Dealing with a narrow majority and Democrats who largely vote in a block against anything they do, House GOP leaders have been under pressure from many in the Republican rank-and-file to codify the DOGE cuts, particularly after the lower chamber narrowly passed the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” that is estimated to add trillions of dollars to the national debt.

Fiscal hawks who do not think enough is being done to rein in spending could revolt if the Senate makes changes to the legislation, and it gets sent back to the House. The Trump administration wants the bill ready to go by July 4.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has listed rescissions as being one of two actions the House will take based on findings from the DOGE initiative, in addition to using the appropriations process to “swiftly implement” Trump’s proposed 2026 budget. “When the White House sends its rescissions package to the House, we will act quickly by passing legislation to codify the cuts,” he said in a Wednesday post on X.