SOLIMAN PLEADS GUILTY TO FEDERAL HATE CRIMES IN BOULDER ATTACK

Mohamed Sabry Soliman has pleaded guilty to federal hate crime and explosives charges over a June 2025 attack on demonstrators in Boulder, Colorado. Prosecutors said he threw Molotov cocktails at a group supporting the release of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on 7 October 2023. At least 12 people suffered injuries, including Karen Diamond, who died three weeks later. Federal prosecutors accused Soliman of targeting the group because its members were Jewish. He entered his federal plea in a Denver court after initially denying the charges.

The demonstrators belonged to Run for Their Lives, a group that met weekly in Colorado. Authorities said Soliman had planned the attack for a year and drove to Boulder from his home in Colorado Springs on 1 June 2025. He shouted “Free Palestine” as he threw the devices, according to prosecutors. The FBI said he also used a makeshift flamethrower. Soliman pleaded guilty in May to 101 state charges, including first-degree murder, and received a life sentence.

His federal plea covered nine hate crime counts and three charges involving explosives or fire. Federal prosecutors declined to seek the death penalty; the charges carry a possible life sentence. Assistant US Attorney Melissa Hindman told the court that Soliman caused “permanent and life-threatening injuries” to several victims. Colorado US District Judge John Kane said he had not decided on a sentence. The court scheduled federal sentencing for January, when several victims intend to make statements.