Boulder firebomber pleads guilty to federal hate crime charges in deadly attack

A man who threw Molotov cocktails at a group of Colorado marchers advocating for the release of Israeli hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza pleaded guilty to federal hate crime charges on Thursday in connection with the deadly attack.

Mohamed Soliman, 47, is already serving a life sentence after pleading guilty to more than 100 state charges in the June 2025 attack in downtown Boulder, which killed one person and injured several others.

He pleaded guilty on Thursday to nine federal hate crime charges, including a hate crime resulting in death, and three federal explosives charges, according to Colorado U.S. District Attorney Peter McNeilly.

"The federal case holds Mohamed Soliman responsible for the hateful ideology that drove his violent acts on June 1st, 2025, in Boulder, Colorado," McNeilly said during a press briefing on Thursday following the change of plea hearing. "He has pleaded guilty to federal hate crimes that account for the fact that he was motivated by the fact that he thought these people were Jewish and Israeli, and that is why he did violence that day."

U.S. Assistant Attorney Melissa Hindman said that both the government and defense lawyers are asking for Soliman to be sentenced to life plus 50 years.

McNeilly said there were death penalty-eligible charges that the government did not pursue in the case. He said the decision of whether to seek the death penalty is ultimately up to the U.S. attorney general and did not go into detail on that process, saying it is "confidential."

"I am happy to say that the result we have today is one that was victim-driven," McNeilly said. "It's one that I believe gives the victims everything we heard they wanted out of this case and ensures a resolution that is just and sensitive to the concerns of the victims in this case."

Soliman's sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 7, 2027.

Soliman lit two Molotov cocktails and threw them at demonstrators supporting Israeli hostages during the Run For Their Lives organization's regular gathering on Boulder's Pearl Street Mall, prosecutors said.

One of the victims -- 82-year-old Karen Diamond -- died three weeks later of her injuries.

According to the federal indictment, Soliman told police that he sought out a "Zionist" event and hoped he had "burned" and "killed" them all.

In May, Soliman was sentenced to life in prison plus over 2,000 more years for the deadly attack immediately after pleading guilty to first-degree murder and dozens of other state charges.

In a statement prior to the sentencing, Soliman apologized for his actions and stated they were not in line with the teachings of Islam.