Mohamed Soliman Pleads Guilty to Federal Hate Crimes in Deadly Boulder Firebomb Attack

Mohamed Soliman pleaded guilty on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026, in federal court in Denver to federal hate crime and other charges for a deadly firebombing attack on demonstrators in Boulder, Colorado, last year. The plea was reported by the Associated Press and Colorado Public Radio.

Soliman pleaded guilty to 12 federal counts. The Associated Press reported that the counts included nine hate crime counts, one resulting in death and eight for attempting to kill other demonstrators, and three federal weapon and explosives counts.

What prosecutors will seek at sentencing

Federal prosecutors, who previously said they would not seek the death penalty, said at the change of plea hearing that they would seek a life term plus 50 years in prison for the dozen counts. They asked that the federal sentence be served consecutively to the state sentence Soliman is already serving.

Soliman is already serving life in prison after his state case in Boulder District Court, where, as Colorado Public Radio reported, he pleaded to state hate crimes and murder charges last spring and was sentenced to life.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Hindman told the court: "The defendant violently used the explosives to cause permanent and life-threatening injuries to several of these victims and cause the death of Karen Diamond."

U.S. District Judge John Kane set federal sentencing for Jan. 7, 2027. He said he had not made up his mind about the sentence and would review the non-binding sentencing guidelines. "I have not made up my mind about the sentence. Sometimes I follow that advice and sometimes I don't," the judge said. Victims are expected to address the court at sentencing.

The June 1, 2025 attack on Pearl Street

The attack took place on June 1, 2025, on Pearl Street in Boulder. Prosecutors said Soliman, yelling "Free Palestine," lit and threw two Molotov cocktails at demonstrators marching in support of hostages taken in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. Federal prosecutors accused him of attacking the demonstrators because they were Jewish.

The flames badly burned Karen Diamond, 82, who died three weeks later, and injured a dozen others. Of 29 attack victims identified by state prosecutors, 13 were physically injured.

Prosecutors said Soliman brought 18 Molotov cocktails to the demonstration in a box but threw only two. They said he got near the demonstration, the weekly "Run for Their Lives" gathering, by posing as a gardener.

Planning allegations and background

Federal authorities alleged that Soliman planned the attack for a year. After his arrest, he told police he sought "to kill all Zionist people," according to an FBI affidavit reported by the Associated Press. Colorado Public Radio reported that he targeted the gathering because of the Israeli flags they carried, after a May Google search for "Zionist event in Colorado or Boulder," according to the FBI.

Colorado Public Radio gave his age as 47 and his full name as Mohamad Sabry Soliman. He is an Egyptian national who was living in Colorado Springs with his wife and five children at the time of the attack. Federal officials said he entered the United States in 2022 on a tourist visa that expired the following year, then filed for asylum, and that his work authorization also expired.

The federal sentence will be decided on Jan. 7, 2027.