Colorado Attack

On June 1, 2025, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, a 45-year-old Egyptian national, attacked a pro-Israel rally in Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall with a makeshift flamethrower and Molotov cocktails, injuring 15 people (aged 25-88) and a dog, with no fatalities reported; the FBI is investigating it as a targeted act of terrorism, with Soliman facing 16 counts of attempted murder and federal hate crime charges.

The suspect, who allegedly shouted “Free Palestine” and planned the attack for a year, targeted the “Run for Their Lives” group advocating for Israeli hostages; community responses include vigils, a fund for victims, and heightened safety concerns amid rising antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents.

Ukraine Drone Attack

Ukraine’s “Spiderweb” drone operation on June 1 targeted four Russian airbases with 117 AI-guided drones, damaging or destroying 41 aircraft, including nuclear-capable bombers, in a significant strike planned over 18 months, exposing vulnerabilities in Russia’s air defenses.

The attack has intensified global discussions on modern warfare, with Putin vowing retaliation, while experts praise Ukraine BiolUkraine’s innovative tactics, though concerns grow over escalation risks in the ongoing conflict.

Blasphemy Laws

In London, Hamit Coskun, 50, was convicted on June 2, 2025, for burning a Quran outside the Turkish Consulate, charged with religiously aggravated public order offenses after shouting “Islam is a religion of terrorism,” prompting critics like Humanists UK to argue this effectively reinstates repealed blasphemy laws, raising free speech concerns.

The case has sparked debate, with Coskun’s £240 fine and claims of protesting Turkey’s president fueling arguments over whether public order laws are being misused to criminalize offensive but legal expression, while supporters say such acts incite hatred.