Multiple people at Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall in Colorado were burned when they were attacked by a man during a march for Israeli hostages Sunday, according to police.

Witnesses at the scene told CBS Colorado that the suspect attacked people with Molotov cocktails who were participating in a walk to remember the Israeli hostages who remain in Gaza.

Run For Their Lives, which organized the walk, said, “This is not a protest; it is a peaceful walk to show solidarity with the hostages and their families, and a plea for their release.”

“So we stood up, lined up in front of the old Boulder courthouse, and I was actually on the far west side. And there was somebody there that I didn’t even notice, although he was making a lot of noise, but I’m just focused on my job of being quiet and getting lined up. And, from my point of view, all of a sudden, I felt the heat. It was a Molotov cocktail equivalent, a gas bomb in a glass jar, thrown. Av [another marcher] saw it, a big flame as high as a tree, and all I saw was someone on fire,” said Victor.

Video of the scene shows what appears to be a burn scar in front of the old courthouse and a person being taken away on a stretcher. Photos from a viewer show a shirtless man at the scene being detained by police.


FBI Director Kash Patel, in a statement, described the incident as a targeted terror attack and said agents were on the scene.

Redfearn, however, said it was too early to speculate about a motive. “We are not calling it a terror attack at this moment,” he said.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/fbi-investigating-targeted-terror-attack-boulder-colorado-director-says-2025-06-01/

    • Belly_Beanis [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      3 days ago

      I’m sure Isreal would love a Reichstag moment. Cops were out doing vandalism during the George Floyd protests and everyone was blaming anti-fascists and BLM for it.

      • Wakmrow [he/him]@hexbear.net
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        3 days ago

        There is no reason for a march for hostages on Pearl Street except to antagonize people. I’ve seen them out there before with Israeli flags trying to piss people off. Boulder is extremely liberal, too.

        • dead [he/him]@hexbear.netOP
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          3 days ago

          I think it’s revealing when the organizers said their event is not a protest. A protest is a political demonstration where the attendees shows disapproval of an entity which has power. Zionists have the full backing of the US government. Zionists are happy about the actions of the US government. Zionists are happy about the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Protests demonstrate for oppressed people, a demonstration for the oppressor is not a protest at all.

          By admitting that their political action is not a protest, the participants admit that they support the genocide in Gaza and they admit that they are not being oppressed. They’re not protesting, they’re gloating.

          • T34_69 [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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            3 days ago

            When they talk about hostages, we all know they’re bullshitting because they have this shit-eating grin like they know what they’re doing and they feel untouchable. Crybully behavior, some of the worst people on Earth.

        • Belly_Beanis [he/him]@hexbear.net
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          3 days ago

          Long-term prison sentences for any pro-Palestinian protesters in the US under the Patriot Act. They are expelling students and deporting people, but the longest they’ve been able to sentence anyone is three years for felony vandalism, with most being around 30~90 days for maximum sentences.

          They would prefer if it was decades or life sentences, and especially if it was without parole. Even better for the zionists if they could arrest people for statements said outside of protests. They could equate anti-zionism as no different than threatening to blow up a federal building.

    • Zetta@mander.xyz
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      3 days ago

      It really doesn’t seem off at all. Seems like something that would totally happen, actually.

      Not specifically hexbear, but just Lemmy in general always spins off conspiracy theories for every single thing that happens, it seems like.

      • javiwhite@feddit.uk
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        3 days ago

        False flag operations have been used consistently in modern history to sway public opinion. To discredit the possibility as implausible is arguably just as outlandish as claiming X did Y without any evidence; especially when there is a clear vested interest in swaying public opinion on the Israeli genocide of Palestinians. (Online suppression of Gaza discussions. Media whitewashing of Israel crimes etc…)

        To clarify; I’m not saying this was a false flag… I’m not really close enough to the subject to definitively say one way or another. And I definitely agree that tempers regarding the subject are incredibly high; so there’s the possibility that this was a crime of passion rather than a false flag.

        I’m just pointing towards the fact that human history is a good barometer for this sort of stuff; and False flag operations aren’t exactly unheard of. Given Israel hasn’t exactly shown itself to be the most humane nation recently; why wouldn’t they use a historically effective technique?

          • javiwhite@feddit.uk
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            3 days ago

            Human behavior user talking about crimes of passion.
            I think this is my first username checks out on Lemmy. :).

            I agree; it’s the same reason it’s hard to state whether the trump shooter was or wasn’t a plant… Because whilst the outcome definitely benefitted him, you can sympathise with what would lead someone to those extremes. But it’s exactly that sort of public opinion about a group that makes false flags all that more desirable to them in the first place; It’s a lot easier to gain support when seen as a victim.

            Still, any sane person realises that throwing a Molotov is not equal to routinely bombing children’s hospitals… But sanity left this topic a long time ago.