Boulder firebombing attacker pleads guilty to federal hate crimes

Mohamed Soliman pleaded guilty Thursday to 12 federal charges stemming from the June 2025 firebombing of a demonstration in Boulder, Colorado, that killed one woman and injured at least 12 other people. The plea follows his conviction in state court for the attack on a group advocating for Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

Soliman had previously pleaded not guilty to the federal charges. At a change-of-plea hearing, a judge found him competent to plead guilty to every count, CBS News reported. His federal sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 7, 2027.

Prosecutors say Soliman threw two Molotov cocktails at demonstrators on the Pearl Street Mall on June 1, 2025. The group, Run for Their Lives, had been holding weekly marches in downtown Boulder for more than a year. Its members gathered to support the release of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas.

Karen Diamond, 82, died of her injuries three weeks after the attack. Her family said her husband, Lou, was also severely burned and spent a month recovering in a hospital burn unit, according to the BBC.

The federal charges include one hate-crime count resulting in Diamond’s death, seven counts involving bodily injury and intent to kill, and one count involving an attempt to cause bodily injury and an attempt to kill with an explosive or incendiary device. The remaining charges concern using fire or an explosive to commit a felony and carrying an explosive during a felony, CBS News reported.

“The federal case holds Mohamed Soliman responsible for the hateful ideology that drove his violent acts in June 2025 in Boulder, Colorado,” U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado Peter McNeilly said. He said Soliman targeted the demonstrators because he believed they were Jewish and Israeli.

Authorities said Soliman planned the attack for a year, watched videos about explosives and drove from his home in Colorado Springs to the protest, the BBC reported. He shouted “Free Palestine” as he threw the firebombs, according to the BBC. Court documents say he told police after his arrest that he wanted to “kill all Zionist people,” the outlet reported.

Soliman pleaded guilty in May to 101 state charges, including first-degree murder. A judge sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder conviction, plus 2,128 years on the other charges, CBS News reported.

The federal judge has not decided on a sentence and said sentencing guidelines are not binding, according to CBS News. The BBC reported that prosecutors are seeking life in prison plus 50 years in the federal case; CBS News reported that Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has requested the same sentence.