Boulder fire bomber pleads guilty to federal hate crimes

Mohamed Sabry Soliman pleaded guilty to 12 federal charges in Denver on Thursday morning. The charges include several federal hate crimes, one of which resulted in death. The plea deal removes the possibility of the death penalty for the man who killed one person and injured a dozen others in a firebombing attack.

U.S. Assistant Attorney Melissa Hindman stated that both the government and defense lawyers are asking for a sentence of life in prison plus 50 years. Soliman's sentencing hearing is scheduled for Jan. 7. He is already serving a life sentence for state charges related to the June 2025 attack.

Soliman, 46, sat at a table with his three lawyers in the courtroom. He wore a brown T-shirt and khaki pants, and his arms and legs were shackled. A section of the gallery reserved for victims was full. Boulder police chief Stephen Redfearn sat in the back row behind them.

The attack occurred on Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall. Soliman lit two Molotov cocktails and threw them at members of Run for Their Lives. The group had gathered weekly in downtown Boulder for nearly two years to raise awareness of Israeli hostages kidnapped during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. More than a dozen people were injured, including a Holocaust survivor.

Federal investigators said Soliman carried a backpack weed sprayer containing flammable liquid. He also had a black plastic container with at least 18 glass bottles and jars. All the containers held flammable liquid and red rags stuffed through the top to act as wicks.

Karen Diamond, an 82-year-old woman, was burned in the attack. She died three weeks later from her injuries. Diamond was active in Boulder’s Jewish community and civic organizations. She had run the Bolder Boulder race days before the attack. Her husband noted she was a mother, grandmother, and a vibrant member of the community who still had much to give.

In May, Soliman was sentenced to life in prison plus more than 2,000 additional years after pleading guilty to first-degree murder and dozens of other state charges. During that sentencing, he apologized for his actions and expressed sympathy for the victims. He rejected the idea that he hated Jewish people, stating instead that he was against Zionism and called it an enemy.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado Peter McNeilly said the federal case holds Soliman accountable for the hateful ideology that motivated the attack. McNeilly stated that the hate crime charges recognize that Soliman targeted the demonstrators because he believed they were Jewish and Israeli. He said the plea agreement secures a conviction without the need for a trial.

U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche decided to pursue a life sentence rather than the death penalty. McNeilly called the decision process confidential. He said the overwhelming voice of the victims supports the life sentence stipulated under the plea deal. McNeilly also stated that Soliman will not spend a day outside of prison in the United States.

Soliman agreed to drop his motions trying to stop his family from being deported. He had been trying to keep his ex-wife and children in the country to help in his defense case. His ex-wife, Hayam El Gamal, has separately sought to remain in the U.S., arguing she has a claim for asylum. Federal immigration authorities detained the family in Texas for nearly 10 months following the attack. A federal judge ordered them released. The family, which includes five children ages 5 to 18, lived in Colorado Springs since 2022.

Ed Victor of Louisville, who was at the event when it was attacked, said the guilty plea was important because it shows the act was anti-Semitic. Victor, who is Jewish and was not physically injured, said he accepted the decision not to pursue the death penalty. Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said in a statement that the guilty plea marks another step toward justice for the victims and the Boulder community.