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Flamethrower Attack at Colorado Event; Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) is Interviewed about the Colorado Attack and His Detained Aide. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired June 02, 2025 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[09:00:00]

SARAH STINER, BUSINESS OWNER WHO RECORDED ICE ARREST: Need a warrant. And we asked for their ID, and they said they didn't have to give their ID.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In a statement to CNN, ICE said the following about the arrest, "the video depicts ICE officers arresting an illegally present Colombian alien who violated the terms of his release by failing to report to immigration authorities as ordered. ICE approves of the tactics employed by the officers conducting this enforcement operation, as they are highly trained at conducting such actions in a safe, professional manner.

And, John, the identity of the man who was arrested has not been revealed and ICE has not disclosed if he had committed any crimes -- crimes other than being in the United States illegally.

Back to you.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Again, you know, we know from our reporting that the administration wants to increase the pace of these apprehensions.

Rafael Romo, thank you so much for that report.

New hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: The breaking news this morning, in just hours, a suspect in a horrific Molotov cocktail attack is expected in court in Colorado. A peaceful march showing support for Israeli hostages targeted. And now eight people are injured. Two had to be airlifted out. One of the victims is a Holocaust survivor. What we're learning about the victims and how they're doing, and also the suspect now under arrest.

Federal agents briefly detained a staffer working for Democratic Congressman Jerry Nadler last week. Agents go into the congressman's district office as activists protested outside an immigration court in the same building. Well, the congressman will be joining us to respond this morning. And moments from now, cross-examination resumes of a former assistant

to Sean "Diddy" Combs. She says that the music mogul repeatedly assaulted her.

Sara is out today. I'm Kate Bolduan, with John Berman. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

BERMAN: All right, breaking this morning, new details on what the FBI is calling a targeted terrorist attack in Boulder, Colorado. At least eight people injured in the attack on a peaceful march in support of the Israeli hostages held in Gaza. Smoke rising from the scene where the FBI says a man used a makeshift flamethrower and threw an incendiary device into the crowd. Witnesses described bystanders using water to douse the burn victims. A suspect is under arrest this morning. Law enforcement has identified him as 45-year-old Mohamed Soliman. He is seen on video carrying two bottles. Police say he shouted "free Palestine."

Let's get right to CNN's Whitney Wild on the scene in Boulder this morning.

Whitney, what are you learning.

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're learning more about the suspect this morning, John. Again, as you said, his name is Mohamed Sabry Soliman. He, according to the Department of Homeland Security, this is from the assistant secretary for public affairs. Tricia McLaughlin, he entered the country in August 2022 on a B-2 visa that expired in February 2023. He filed for asylum in September of 2022. Sources are telling CNN's John Miller that he had previously applied for asylum in 2005. We know that the White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller had previously tweeted that he had overstayed a visa and was in the country illegally.

John, there are many more questions about how long he had planned this attack, why he planned this attack and how he was able to actually carry it out. The video is absolutely horrific. What you see is this man, you know, people on fire, this man walking around with no shirt holding what are basically spray bottles with a flammable material inside. As we know, it was an instantly chaotic scene, an instantly horrific scene.

Here is some of the dispatch audio that captured those harrowing moments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pearl Street, the courthouse. It's like there's a male with a blow torch setting people on fire. There's multiple mixed reports about if people are on fire or not we're getting lots of 911 calls. We have fire (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 303 (ph), (INAUDIBLE). Pearl, there it is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 137 (ph) --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WILD: John, he has been booked in Boulder. He was booked just before midnight last night. One of the counts is explosive -- using explosives or incendiary devices during a felony. There is a long list of charges. We're certainly going to hear more about that at his initial appearance today. That's at 1:30 Mountain Time.

Finally, John, sources have told CNN that law enforcement is also trying to work through what his mental health status is. And one source telling CNN's Josh Campbell that it's a curious -- it's a curious crime for a, you know, a long list of reasons. The first is that he stayed -- he stuck around and then was arrested. He's walking around with no shirt.

[09:05:02]

So all -- you know, and then finally, John, the way that he carried out this crime was -- was really odd.

So, law enforcement working through what his mental health status is. Again, we expect to hear much more about his charges later today.

But, you know, what's important here is to remember the victims. They are between 52 and 88 years old. One of them, as you mentioned, is a Holocaust survivor. This community now will rally.

There is one thing -- and I worked in Denver for three years. One thing I can tell you that I know for sure is that Boulder is a strong community. They rally around their neighbors. And certainly they will lean on each other now more than ever.

John.

BERMAN: They'll need each other this morning.

Whitney Wild, on the scene in Boulder, thank you very much for that.

And with me now is John Miller, CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst.

And, John, you, with your sources, have sort of put together a TikTok of this suspect's time in the United States. What have you learned?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, we've been trying to figure out, based on the reports yesterday that he had applied for asylum, been denied, when exactly did he get here and how. What we've learned from sources is that he got here on August 27th of 2022, arriving on a flight from Egypt to LAX in Los Angeles. That on September 9th of '22 he files with the USCIS, the federal agency that deals with requests for a green card, citizenship and so on. And that -- that by March 23rd -- by March of 2023, he is granted a work visa as a nonimmigrant visitor that's good through '25. So, that expired this March, which means that's when he apparently started to remain here illegally as an overstay.

But he's been in country a couple of years. Most of that time here legally. And has really been below the radar. Mohamed Soliman seems to have no arrests for any serious crimes, doesn't seem to be in the FBI's holding of potential terrorist suspects, and then emerges in this incident yesterday where he is using the Molotov cocktails, which from that footage, you know, you'll see him holding. Here you see law enforcement taking him at gunpoint, handcuffing him on the ground.

And he has remained on the scene. He hasn't resisted. And during the time he was there waiting for that police officer to take him into custody, he was yelling, "we have to end Zionists," "free Palestine." So, the interesting thing that is still up in the air here is reports that he was posing as a landscaper working in that grassy area and that he used an improvised flamethrower. So, we're trying to learn more about what that device was.

Also, why is he shirtless? Eyewitnesses who have spoken to police say that while he was spraying these flames from this improvised flamethrower, he himself started to catch fire, took off the shirt and threw it on the side again.

BERMAN: Again, the video obviously very, very disturbing there.

John Miller, all these new details. Thank you for sharing your reporting on this.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Great reporting, as always, from John.

Joining us right now is Democratic Congressman Jerry Nadler of New York for much more on this and more.

Congressman, you're the most senior Jewish member of the House. One of the longest serving Jewish members in the House. What is your reaction to what is -- we're now learning played out and has happened in Boulder?

REP. JERRY NADLER, (D-NY): Well, it was an obviously anti-Semitic attack and the latest in a series of anti-Semitic -- anti-Semitic attacks. We had that attack on that couple exiting the Jewish community center in Washington a couple of weeks ago. And before that, the -- on Passover, the -- the -- the firebombing -- or -- or rather the attack on -- on -- on -- on Governor Shapiro, a -- a Jewish governor's home in -- in Pennsylvania. And this is the latest in a series of attacks. And the Jewish community is -- is very on edge. And we want the -- the federal government to do more. And we'd like to see an increase in the budget for the protection -- for -- for the protection provisions of the law, because when someone talks about Israel and attacks Jewish institutions or Jewish people, that's clearly anti-Semitism.

BOLDUAN: This -- you -- you talked about the shooting in D.C., the murder in D.C. This -- the pace and the brazen nature of these attacks, it's just getting worse. And while I -- we've heard, and I hear from you, and I've heard from so many others, like, something needs to be done. What is -- what -- what needs to be done other than raising awareness, speaking out against it, obviously calling it out, holding them accountable to the fullest extent of the law.

[09:10:02]

What are you looking for?

NADLER: Well, the only other thing we can look for really, aside from the -- it would be nice if the president spoke out against this anti- Semitism. But the other thing is that the protective law for -- that -- that provides for protection for schools and churches and mosques and -- and synagogues, that should be increased because we need to -- we need more security at all these places of worship and -- and -- and congregation.

BOLDUAN: Especially ahead of another holiday upon us.

NADLER: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Congressman, you have -- you have a situation you're also dealing with that I wanted to ask you about, of course. I'm going to play the video that we have obtained for our viewers while I describe the situation. This happened last week. Federal officers with DHS were seen going into your district office in New York. They handcuffed and detained one of your aides for a period of time. And according to DHS, in the statement that they put out, it says that the agents entered because they were told protesters were in your office and that they were concerned for the safety of your staff. When they arrived, the quote from DHS is, one individual became verbally confrontational and physically blocked access to the office, and the person was detained so the officers could conduct their check and then were released.

What is your view of what happened?

NADLER: Well, my view of what happened is outrageous. My first concern was for the safety of -- of my staff member. And I didn't say anything. And I decided to speak out after the DHS released their misleading and -- and, frankly, lying story about what happened.

They were -- DHS was upset that some of my staff members were watching them grab immigrants emerging from an immigration court in the same building, a floor -- a floor below. And they were upset that my staff invited some of the observers up to my office.

They then came up to the office and demanded entrance. One of my staff members said, you can't come in here, you need a warrant. They said, no, we don't need a warrant, which is incorrect. This is -- and they barged in. And, in barging in, one of the offices, a very big, heavy- set fellow, pushed my aide, a very petite young woman, and they then said that she pushed back and they shackled her and took her downstairs. And she was obviously traumatized.

Now, the fact is that this was totally unacceptable. The tactics were totally unacceptable. And they needed a warrant. And my office is a congressional office. It's a completely separate branch of government. A co-equal branch of government with -- with the executive for which they work. And they had no right to -- to come in and they had no right to disregard the co-equal branch of government, which is to say, Congress.

So, I am demanding -- I'm asking for an investigation. I -- by -- I'm going to -- I'm communicating with Jim Jordan, the chairman of the immigration -- of the Judiciary Committee, demanding an -- an investigation of this incident, of generally of ICE tactics, which are, frankly, very threatening to -- to liberty.

BOLDUAN: But, Congressman, have you reached out to the secretary? I mean as, you know, the ranking member on Judiciary, one of the senior member in the House, you have access to reaching out to the Department of Homeland Security in ways that, you know, an average individual does not. Have you reached out to the secretary? Have you heard anything? Have you heard anything back?

NADLER: No. No, I have not -- no, I have not reached out yet. The young woman was -- after I came -- after I showed up on the scene and spoke to the DHS people, they then unshackled her and -- and -- and let her go. So, I -- I felt no need to talk to the secretary.

Now, I do feel a need to have a congressional investigation. And that's why I'm asking Jim Jordan to call for -- to hold an investigation, a -- a hearing, a committee hearing. And to that committee hearing, I assume, we'll -- we'll invite the -- the secretary.

BOLDUAN: Real quick, has Jim Jordan said he will?

NADLER: We haven't asked him yet. We're -- we're writing a letter now.

BOLDUAN: Got it. We'll follow up on that.

Congressman, thank you very much for coming in. Thank you for your time.

NADLER: You're quite welcome.

BERMAN: All right, this morning, the prosecution attempts to piece together evidence of a criminal enterprise in the trial of Sean Combs as one of his former aides returns to the stand.

And the key piece of legislation in President Trump's agenda set to face debate. How a surprising coalition of Republican senators now holds all the leverage.

[09:15:00]

And new, behind the scenes details from the series finale of the hit show "Handmaids Tale."

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BOLDUAN: Right now, the racketeering and sex trafficking trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs is picking back up, entering its fourth week now of testimony. The ex-assistant of Combs, who was granted anonymity, only known publicly as Mia, will return to the stand this morning. She'll face cross-examination continued from Combs' defense team. She testified Friday in emotional and painful detail about the verbal, physical and sexual abuse she says she experienced while employed by Combs.

And beginning in cross -- of cross -- the beginning of cross- examination Friday, the defense tried to undercut her testimony, suggesting several times that she had made up the sexual assault allegations against Combs.

[09:20:05]

Joining me now to discuss is former assistant U.S. attorney to the southern district, Sarah Krissoff, and former federal prosecutor Alyse Adamson.

Thank you guys for being here.

So, Sarah, this was really emotional. And I heard from several people, really damning testimony, because this assistant, I was -- I heard from so many people in court, was so credible because of how painful you could see physically it was for her to recall so much of this. And then you have cross-examination beginning, trying to undercut it at every way.

What do you think of how the defense team is doing here?

SARAH KRISSOFF, FORMER U.S. PROSECUTOR, SDNY: So, they have to be very careful in the cross-examination of a witness like this.

BOLDUAN: Right.

KRISSOFF: And I heard the same things that you did about her demeanor and performance in court. I think, you know, she was very soft spoken. She was credible. This was obviously a very difficult experience for her. And I think the jury probably believed her. So, the defense has to really tread lightly to not, you know, make the jury upset about how they're treating this witness.

BOLDUAN: And also, I mean, Alyse, how do -- how helpful do you think, kind of going back to the beginning of her testimony, how helpful do you see her testimony to being -- in being to the core of this case, which is connecting a slew of horrible stories that are coming out about an allegations against Sean "Diddy" Combs, but connecting it to sex trafficking and connecting it to racketeering.

KRISSOFF: Yes. I mean, she's --

ALYSE ADAMSON, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Yes, I think Mia's testimony was incredibly damning.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

ADAMSON: Sorry. Go ahead, Kate.

BOLDUAN: No, no, you go ahead, please, Alyse.

ADAMSON: OK. Thanks. I -- I think that -- I think that means testimony was incredibly damning in that it connected a lot of dots. It helped to prove up the corrupt enterprise, which, of course, is an essential element of that RICO charge. Just the things she was asked to do on behalf of Combs I think showed this unified purpose of Combs enterprise.

Her testimony also largely corroborated that of Cassie Ventura's, which goes right to that sex trafficking, that Cassie Ventura was a reluctant participant in these freak offs and not a willing participant, as the defense wants the jury to believe.

And finally, she also helped establish some of the pattern of racketeering activities that is also necessary to prove that RICO charge. Her testimony alone laid the foundation for both forced labor and also drug distribution, which is on that list of the underlying offenses that the government must prove two of to prove up that RICO charge. So, I think her testimony was extremely significant. And that's why the defense is taking the risk of crossing her so hard on some of these traumatic moments that she shared with the jury.

BOLDUAN: So interesting. Good perspective on that.

Sarah, Kara Scannell was saying earlier that coming up now after this is a list of summary witnesses. Hotel employees connecting the dots, trying -- working to connect the dots between records and travel and kind of putting it all together. And also that the prosecutor -- prosecution says suggested that things are moving along faster than maybe they had anticipated. I mean, from your experience, if that's happening in one of your cases, what does that mean?

KRISSOFF: It all depends on the length of the cross-examination, right?

BOLDUAN: OK.

KRISSOFF: And so, the prosecution has a good idea of how long their direct examinations are going to take. They really have no idea how long their cross-examinations are going to take.

BOLDUAN: Right.

KRISSOFF: And so, they make this estimate. It's also better for the prosecution to overestimate how long this trial is going to take because if they underestimate it, the jury gets mad at them, the judge gets mad at them. If they overestimate, the jury is like, wow, we get a few days to ourselves. The judge is happy they're moving along faster than they anticipated.

BOLDUAN: There is more strategy in every aspect of a trial, specifically a federal trial, than I ever give it -- than I often give it credit for, every aspect of it.

Sarah, it's great to see you.

Alyse, thank you so much for your time.

Coming up for us, lawmakers are back on Capitol Hill after a week-long break. At the top of the Senate's to do list right now is to figure out what they are going to do, how they are going to change the president's massive tax cut and spending bill.

And we are minutes away from opening bell on Wall Street. Markets reacting to the latest from President Trump. President Trump attacking the courts and also fighting back against China and making claims China is violating a trade agreement.

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[09:29:14]

BERMAN: So, this morning, Wall Street watchers are saying that investors are adopting a new trade, quote, "anywhere but the USA." Top investors say there's a growing consensus that U.S. exceptionalism is beginning to fade.

Rami Cassis, founder of Parabellum Investments in London, said there's been a shift in attitude towards investing in the U.S., and it goes deeper than just seeking out the biggest returns. In an interview with CNBC, he said trading has become emotive. He added, "nobody wants to invest in an environment where the government might change its mind overnight. And what would ordinarily be purely objective and rational commercial decision is now being supported by a level of emotion that's been introduced by some of the behaviors and policies that have come out of the current administration."

[09:29:57]

With us now, former Republican Senator Jeff Flake from Arizona, who served as ambassador to Turkey in the Biden administration, who just wrote an op-ed about really the U.S. position in the world and what you would like.