Boulder firebombing attack suspect pleads guilty to federal hate crime charges

DENVER — The man who firebombed a group of demonstrators on Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall in June 2025 pleaded guilty Thursday to federal hate crime and explosives charges, admitting he attacked the group because of its actual or perceived Israeli national origin and Jewish religion.

Mohammed Sabry Soliman, 46, pleaded guilty to 12 federal charges, including hate crime resulting in death. U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado Peter McNeilly said the charges are nine federal hate crimes and three federal explosives charges.

Soliman threw Molotov cocktails at demonstrators who had gathered to support Israeli hostages in Gaza. The attack killed Karen Diamond and caused permanent and life-threatening injuries to several others.

McNeilly told Denver7 that Soliman bought the materials for more than a dozen Molotov cocktails and assembled them. He also filled a weed sprayer with gasoline, intending to use it as a makeshift flamethrower, McNeilly said.

According to the plea agreement’s stipulated facts, Soliman lit two Molotov cocktails and threw them at the group, attempting to kill people because of their actual or perceived Israeli national origin and Jewish religion. McNeilly said that motive is an element of each hate crime Soliman admitted to.

“It was his animus towards these groups which drove him to commit these horrific acts of violence, and he admitted that in federal court today,” McNeilly said.

In a prepared statement, McNeilly said the admissions show the attack was antisemitic.

“By his own admissions, Mohamed Soliman’s hateful attack on our neighbors in Boulder was antisemitic,” McNeilly said.

In May, Soliman pleaded guilty to more than 100 state charges, including first-degree murder and 26 counts of attempted murder. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus more than 2,100 additional years.

For the nine hate crime charges, Soliman faces a maximum penalty of life in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. For the other three charges, he faces a maximum of 50 years in prison to run consecutive to any other term, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

Sentencing is set for Jan. 7, 2027. The government and defense are both asking for a life sentence plus 50 years. McNeilly said the agreement also means there will be no appeal.

Edward Victor, a victim of the attack, said he wanted to be in the courtroom for the plea. He said Soliman told the judge at 10:48 a.m. that he agreed, but prosecutors noted he had not said the word guilty. Victor said Soliman then declared himself guilty at 10:55 a.m.

“Pleading guilty to the hate crime was extremely important to hear today,” Victor said.

Victor said the demonstrators were there peacefully to raise awareness of the hostages in Gaza, who included Americans.

“He was against the Jews who happened to be there at that time, peacefully raising awareness for the hostages in Gaza,” Victor said.

Victor said he feels relief, though people injured in the attack are still recovering.

“I would say closure we can think of as a chapter, but not necessarily a book,” Victor said.

McNeilly said the death penalty was an option. Prosecutors obtained the original indictment one day before Diamond died, and death-eligible charges became possible after she did, he said. The decision rests with the U.S. Attorney General, and McNeilly said the process is confidential.

McNeilly said the resolution was driven by victims, who wanted a life sentence, finality and no appeal. Victor said he is comfortable with the outcome and that closure comes more quickly without a death penalty case.

“He’s not getting out,” Victor said.

Soliman was staying in Colorado Springs at the time of the attack but is originally from Egypt and had overstayed his visa. McNeilly said he will not be deported.

“The defendant is not getting deported,” McNeilly said.

McNeilly said Soliman withdrew motions he had filed to keep his family in the country as potential witnesses in a capital sentencing phase, and the court granted the withdrawal. He said the case places no constraint on the family’s immigration proceedings, which are separate, and he declined to discuss them.

Amanda Koldjeski, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Denver Division, said the plea does not undo what victims lived through.

“Justice in a courtroom does not instantly create closure, but justice did occur today with a guilty plea,” Koldjeski said.

McNeilly urged the public to focus on Diamond, who he said was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother and friend, and who expressed that the right response to hatred is kindness and love.

“May Karen Diamond’s memory be a blessing, and may her story inspire each of us to treat our fellow humans with more kindness and understanding,” McNeilly said.