Mohamed Sabry Soliman has pleaded guilty to federal hate crime charges over a June 2025 firebomb attack on demonstrators in Boulder, Colorado. At least 12 people were injured, and one victim later died. Sentencing in the federal case is scheduled for January, with prosecutors seeking life in prison plus 50 years; the court will decide the final sentence.
State case already resulted in life sentence
Soliman previously pleaded guilty to 101 state charges, including first-degree murder, and was sentenced to life in prison. He had initially denied the federal charges before changing his plea.
U.S. Attorney Peter McNeilly said prosecutors’ sentencing recommendation takes the victims’ wishes into account. McNeilly also said that, after entering his guilty plea, Soliman withdrew a motion seeking to prevent his family from being deported if they were needed to testify in the case.
The federal sentencing is set for January. The request for a life sentence plus 50 years is the prosecution’s recommendation, not a final ruling.
Attack targeted a weekly Boulder gathering
Prosecutors say Soliman planned the attack for about a year and watched videos about explosives. On June 1, 2025, he drove from his home in Colorado Springs to Boulder, threw firebombs at demonstrators and shouted, “Free Palestine.”
The crowd included members of the Colorado chapter of Run for Their Lives, a group that holds weekly demonstrations calling for the release of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas in the October 7, 2023, attack.
Karen Diamond, 82, died of her injuries three weeks after the attack. Her family said her husband, Lou, also suffered severe burns and spent a month in a hospital burn unit. Court documents state that after his arrest, Soliman told police he wanted to “kill all Zionist people.”
Case draws attention to antisemitic violence
The attack came amid wider concern about antisemitic violence in the United States. Shortly beforehand, a fatal shooting took place outside a Jewish center in Washington, D.C.
Soliman is an Egyptian national. Case records state that he entered California on a nonimmigrant visa in 2022, which expired in February 2023.
The state case has concluded with a life sentence, while the federal hate crime case is awaiting sentencing in January. The injuries, Diamond’s death and her family’s account are among the circumstances relevant to sentencing and the victims’ requests.