An Egyptian national who hurled gasoline bombs at a pro-Israel rally in Colorado last year, resulting in the death of an 82-year-old participant, pleaded guilty on Thursday to federal hate-crime and explosives charges in Denver.
Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 46, entered guilty pleas to nine counts of hate-crime offenses and three explosives charges. Federal prosecutors declined to seek the death penalty, leaving the charges punishable by life in prison. Soliman is already serving a life term following a guilty plea in May to more than 100 state charges, including first-degree murder.
The attack occurred on June 1, 2025, in downtown Boulder’s Pearl Street shopping district outside a municipal courthouse. Prosecutors stated that Soliman disguised himself as a gardener and tossed two Molotov cocktails into a peaceful gathering staged to express solidarity with hostages seized during the October 7, 2023, Hamas raid from Gaza. Soliman also utilized a makeshift blowtorch fashioned from a spray bottle and shouted “Free Palestine” as the gasoline bombs erupted in flames. Authorities noted he carried a crate containing 16 additional, unused gasoline bombs.
Investigators identified 29 total victims, encompassing 14 individuals who sustained burns or injuries while fleeing and 15 who were positioned closely enough to be classified as targets of attempted murder. Among them was 82-year-old Karen Diamond, who succumbed to her injuries later that month. Her husband survived the attack despite suffering severe burns.
The violent incident unfolded against a backdrop of heightened tensions surrounding the conflict in Gaza, which spurred a national rise in anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim hate crimes. During his state court proceedings in May, Soliman denounced his actions as contrary to Islamic teachings while expressing sorrow for families in Palestine and stating that his “enemy is Zionism.” A public defender representing him at the time stated that her client felt overwhelmed by global suffering and acted on that impulse.
Court affidavits filed by prosecutors revealed that Soliman told investigators he wanted to “kill all Zionist people” and had planned the assault for a year, delaying execution until after his daughter’s high school graduation. Soliman resided in Colorado Springs with his wife and five children prior to the attack, and investigators indicated that family members were unaware of his plans.
Following his arrest in June 2025, Soliman’s wife and children were taken into immigration custody and transferred to a Texas detention facility. They were released on April 23, 2026, after more than 10 months, but were re-arrested on April 25 upon returning to Colorado before being freed again the following day through legal intervention. Court records from earlier this month indicated that Soliman subsequently withdrew motions that sought to block attempts to remove his family.
