Boulder Molotov Cocktail Attacker Pleads Guilty to Federal Hate Crimes

Mohamed Soliman changed his plea to guilty on a dozen federal charges in court on Thursday following a deadly firebomb attack on the Pearl Street Mall.

Details of the Attack

Soliman threw two Molotov cocktails at a group during a demonstration in June 2025 supporting Israeli captives held by Hamas. The attack killed one person and injured more than a dozen others. The victim group, Run for Their Lives, had marched through downtown Boulder every Sunday for over a year, ending at the historic Boulder County Courthouse.

State and Federal Case

Soliman pleaded guilty to more than 100 state criminal charges in May, receiving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder plus 2,128 years in prison. He appeared before a judge at the Arraj Courthouse at 10 a.m. Thursday to face 12 federal hate crime charges, where the judge found him competent to change his plea. U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado Peter McNeilly stated that the federal case holds Soliman responsible for the hateful ideology that drove the violence against people he thought were Jewish and Israeli. Gov. Polis is requesting a sentence of life in prison plus 50 years, while the judge noted sentencing guidelines are not strictly binding. Sentencing is set for 10 a.m. on Jan. 7, 2027.

Context

Federal hate crime charges are separate from state-level crimes and specifically address bias-motivated violence. High-profile federal cases often run alongside state prosecutions when crimes violate both local and national laws.