Scott Jennings, a conservative political commentator, called the Free Palestine movement “nothing more than a domestic terror organization” on Monday, saying it needs to be dealt with.
His comment arose from a conversation about the recent terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, on a group of people raising awareness for Israeli hostages in Gaza. Federal law enforcement officials said the suspect in the attack, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, told them he specifically targeted the “Zionist group.”
“This is horrific,” Jennings told CNN’s Jake Tapper on The Lead. “What more do we need to see, Jake, before we realize this ‘Free Palestine’ movement is nothing more than a domestic terror organization right now?”
The suspect allegedly threw Molotov cocktails and used a “makeshift flamethrower” on the group of people and yelled “Free Palestine!” At least 15 people and a dog were injured in the attack that the FBI is calling a hate crime.
Jennings cited Sunday’s attack, as well as the recent murder of Israeli embassy workers in Washington, D.C. and college campus protests, as examples of the Free Palestine movement’s “domestic terror” behavior.
“I think as a society, we need to understand we’re dealing with domestic terrorism, it’s growing more violent by the day and if we don’t deal with it, these kinds of things are going to keep happening in cities all over the place,” Jennings said.
Jennings worked in former president George W. Bush’s administration as a special assistant and deputy of political affairs.
Officials across the country have raised concerns about antisemitic-motivated attacks rising due to political disputes stemming from the Israel–Hamas war. President Donald Trump has promised to crack down on college protests that he believes are antisemitic, and accused college campuses of being hotbeds of antisemitism.
Trump also blamed former President Joe Biden’s “ridiculous Open Border Policy” for the attack in a Truth Social post.
Soliman, an Egyptian national, was in the U.S. illegally, the Department of Homeland Security said previously. He entered the U.S. in August 2022 as a non-immigrant visitor and was later granted a two-year work authorization in March 2023 – which expired this year.
In his post, Trump continued: “[Soliman] came in through Biden’s ridiculous Open Border Policy, which has hurt our Country so badly. He must go out under ‘TRUMP’ Policy. Acts of Terrorism will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law.”
The FBI defines domestic terrorism as criminal acts committed by individuals or groups to further ideological goals stemming from political, religious, social, racial, or environmental influences.
Officials have said the attack in Boulder was targeted and leaders throughout the country have condemned the suspected perpetrator for antisemitism.
