Federal prosecutors secure guilty plea in Colorado rally firebombing case

Mohamed Sabry Soliman pleaded guilty on Thursday to federal hate-crime charges in Denver, admitting he attacked a pro-Israel rally in Colorado because of the targeted group's Jewish religion and Israeli national origin. The United States Department of Justice confirmed the 47-year-old Egyptian national entered the plea in federal court, resolving a major part of the legal proceedings stemming from the June 1, 2025, incident.

Soliman admitted to tossing two Molotov cocktails at the crowd gathered in downtown Boulder. Prosecutors stated he yelled Free Palestine as the gasoline bombs burst into flames outside a municipal courthouse in the Pearl Street shopping district. The rally was held in solidarity with hostages seized by Hamas during the October 7, 2023, attack on Israeli villages.

The federal charges include nine counts of hate-crime offenses and three explosives counts. Federal prosecutors declined to seek the death penalty, opting instead for a plea deal that requests a sentence of life in prison plus 50 years. Soliman is already serving a life sentence after pleading guilty in May to more than 100 state charges, which included first-degree murder.

He will be formally sentenced on January 7. David Kraut, the federal public defender listed as Soliman's lawyer, did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the plea agreement.

State authorities identified 29 victims from the attack. Fourteen people were burned or injured while fleeing the scene, while 15 others were close enough to be considered targets of attempted murder. One victim, 82-year-old Karen Diamond, died of her injuries later that month. Her husband survived but suffered severe burns.

In state court, Soliman described his crimes as contrary to the teachings of Islam and stated he bore no ill will toward Jewish people. He cited the thousands of families lost in Palestine and Gaza and identified Zionism as the enemy. Affidavits filed by prosecutors indicated Soliman told investigators he planned the attack for a year but waited until after his daughter graduated from high school.

Soliman lived in Colorado Springs with his wife and five children. He asserted that his family members were unaware of his intentions before the attack. The family was taken into immigration custody in June 2025 after his arrest and transported to a detention facility in Texas.

The family was held for more than 10 months until a court-ordered release on April 23, 2026. They were rearrested on April 25 of this year just after returning to Colorado. Attorneys intervened the next day, securing their freedom again. Court records show Soliman withdrew motions seeking to block further attempts to remove his family from the United States.

The firebombing occurred during a period of heightened tension following the 2023 Hamas raid and Israel's military response in Gaza. The conflict sparked a surge in anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim hate crimes across the United States, alongside pro-Palestinian protests that many Israel supporters characterized as antisemitic.