Man pleads guilty to federal hate crimes in deadly firebomb attack on Colorado demonstrators

Boulder Police Department/AP/File

An Egyptian man faces an additional life sentence after pleading guilty Thursday to federal hate crime and other charges for a deadly firebombing attack on demonstrators in Boulder, Colorado, last year.

Mohamed Soliman is already serving life in prison after pleading guilty to state charges last spring. Federal prosecutors, who previously said they would not seek the death penalty against Soliman, said at his change-of-plea hearing they would seek a life term plus 50 years in prison for the dozen counts.

Soliman spoke through an interpreter at the hearing and said little besides “yes” and “no” responses to the judge’s questioning, such as whether he understood the consequences of pleading guilty. Wearing a brown shirt and khaki-colored pants, Soliman was led out of court in handcuffs and shackles without looking at the victims in the courtroom.

Yelling “Free Palestine,” Soliman lit and threw two Molotov cocktails at the demonstrators who were marching in support of hostages taken in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.

Federal prosecutors accused Soliman of attacking in June 2025 because the demonstrators were Jewish. The flames badly burned Karen Diamond, 82, and injured a dozen others.

Diamond died three weeks later. Her family says she suffered “indescribable pain.”

In all, Soliman pleaded guilty to nine federal counts of hate crimes, including one resulting in Diamond’s death and eight for attempting to kill other demonstrators. Three additional counts were federal weapon charges.

“The defendant violently used the explosives to cause permanent and life-threatening injuries to several of these victims and cause the death of Karen Diamond,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Hindman said in court shortly before Soliman pleaded guilty.

A group of victims sat stoically in the courtroom, some taking notes as the judge asked Soliman if he understood the proceedings. Several victims intended to make statements at Soliman’s sentencing but declined to do so in court Thursday, Hindman told the court.

Colorado U.S. District Judge John Kane said he would review sentencing guidelines before deciding whether to accept or reject prosecutors’ sentencing recommendation. He noted the guidelines are not binding.

“I have not made up my mind about the sentence,” Kane said. “Sometimes I follow that advice and sometimes I don’t.”

Soliman’s federal sentencing was set for Jan. 7.

David Zalubowski/AP/File

Boulder residents, particularly the Jewish community, described being unnerved by the attack in their city northwest of Denver that’s home to the University of Colorado.

The group “Run for Their Lives” had been demonstrating weekly downtown. Soliman got near the demonstration on Pearl Street, a pedestrian mall lined with shops and restaurants, by posing as a gardener.

Federal authorities alleged Soliman planned the attack for a year. After his arrest, Soliman told police he sought “to kill all Zionist people,” a reference to the movement to establish and protect a Jewish state in Israel, according to an FBI affidavit.

Federal officials said he was in the U.S. illegally. He entered in 2022 on a tourist visa that expired the following year, then filed for asylum.

He was granted work authorization, but it too expired, federal officials said

Soliman was living with his wife and their five children in an apartment in Colorado Springs at the time of the attack. He worked a series of low-paying jobs.

The couple divorced in April. Soliman recently dropped his opposition to removing his family from the U.S.

Prosecutors in Soliman’s state case argued he planned for more harm than he carried out. He tried twice to buy a gun and was denied, they said.

He brought 18 Molotov cocktails — bottles filled with flammable liquid that are lit, thrown and burst into flames when they shatter — to the demonstration in a box, but only two were thrown.

Of the 29 attack victims identified by state prosecutors, 13 were physically injured. Prosecutors considered the rest victims because they could have been hurt.

An injured dog led to a state animal cruelty charge.

While in court to plead guilty to the state charges in May, Soliman said he has known and respected Jewish people but questioned the deaths of innocent people in Israeli attacks on Gaza.

“Yes, I am against Israel and I can’t deny that. And that is my right,” Soliman said.

博尔德警察局/美联社/档案照片

一名埃及男子周四承认犯有联邦仇恨犯罪和其他罪行，他因去年在科罗拉多州博尔德市对示威者发动致命的燃烧弹袭击而面临额外的终身监禁。

穆罕默德·索利曼去年春天对州级指控认罪后，已被判处终身监禁。联邦检察官此前曾表示不会对索利曼寻求死刑，但在其认罪听证会上，他们表示将就这十二项指控寻求判处终身监禁外加50年有期徒刑。

在庭审中，索利曼通过翻译发言，除了对法官的提问（例如他是否理解认罪的后果）回答“是”和“否”之外，几乎没有其他发言。索利曼身穿棕色衬衫和卡其色裤子，被戴上手铐和脚镣带出法庭，全程没有看一眼法庭上的受害者。

索利曼高喊着“解放巴勒斯坦”，点燃并向示威者投掷了两枚燃烧弹。这些示威者当时正在游行，声援在 2023 年 10 月 7 日哈马斯袭击以色列事件中被劫持的人质。

联邦检察官指控索利曼于2025年6月发动袭击，原因是示威者是犹太人。82岁的凯伦·戴蒙德被大火严重烧伤，另有十几人受伤。

戴蒙德三周后去世。她的家人说她遭受了“难以言喻的痛苦”。

索利曼总共承认了九项联邦仇恨犯罪指控，其中包括一项导致戴蒙德死亡的指控和八项企图杀害其他示威者的指控。此外，他还承认了三项联邦武器指控。

“被告暴力使用爆炸物，导致多名受害者遭受永久性和危及生命的伤害，并导致凯伦·戴蒙德死亡，”美国助理检察官梅丽莎·欣德曼在索利曼认罪前不久在法庭上说道。

一群受害者神情肃穆地坐在法庭上，有些人一边做笔记，一边听法官询问索利曼是否理解庭审程序。欣德曼告诉法庭，几名受害者原本打算在索利曼的量刑听证会上发言，但周四在法庭上最终放弃了发言。

科罗拉多州联邦地区法官约翰·凯恩表示，他将在决定是否接受或驳回检方的量刑建议之前，先查阅量刑指南。他指出，这些指南不具有约束力。

“我还没决定判决结果，”凯恩说。“有时候我会听从建议，有时候则不会。”

索利曼的联邦量刑听证会定于1月7日举行。

David Zalubowski/AP/档案照片

博尔德市的居民，特别是犹太社区的居民，表示对发生在丹佛西北部、科罗拉多大学所在地博尔德市的袭击事件感到不安。

“逃命”组织每周都会在市中心举行示威活动。索利曼伪装成园丁，接近了珍珠街上的示威人群。珍珠街是一条步行街，两旁林立着商店和餐馆。

联邦当局指控索利曼策划此次袭击长达一年。据联邦调查局的宣誓书显示，索利曼被捕后告诉警方，他试图“杀死所有犹太复国主义者”，指的是在以色列建立和保护犹太国家的运动。

联邦官员称他非法滞留美国。他于2022年持旅游签证入境，该签证于次年到期，之后他申请了庇护。

联邦官员表示，他曾获得工作许可，但该许可也已过期。

袭击发生时，索利曼和妻子以及五个孩子住在科罗拉多斯普林斯的一套公寓里。他做过一系列收入微薄的工作。

这对夫妇于四月离婚。索利曼最近放弃了反对将家人迁出美国的立场。

索利曼在州级案件中的检方辩称，他计划的危害比实际实施的要大。他们说，他曾两次试图购买枪支，但都被拒绝了。

他带着 18 个莫洛托夫鸡尾酒（一种装满易燃液体的瓶子，点燃后投掷出去，破碎时会燃起火焰）装在一个盒子里参加示威活动，但只投掷了两个。

州检察官确认的29名袭击受害者中，有13人受了身体伤害。检察官将其余人员也视为受害者，因为他们也可能受到伤害。

一只受伤的狗导致有人被控虐待动物。

今年五月，索利曼在法庭上对州政府的指控认罪时表示，他认识并尊重犹太人，但他对以色列袭击加沙导致无辜民众死亡的做法表示质疑。

“是的，我反对以色列，我无法否认这一点。这是我的权利，”索利曼说道。