Explosives counts carry 50 years; Jan. 7 sentencing scheduled
The nine hate crime charges against Mohamed Sabry Soliman carry a maximum penalty of life in prison plus a $250,000 fine, while the three explosives charges in the case carry a maximum penalty of 50 years to run consecutive to any other prison term, plus the same fine. Soliman, a 46-year-old Colorado Springs man, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to the nine hate crime charges and the three explosives charges, which stem from his use of Molotov cocktails in the attack. He is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 7.
“No one should be subjected to violence because of their religion or national origin,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement. “With this plea, we hope to deliver a measure of justice to the victims and their families.”
“By his own admissions, Mohamed Soliman’s hateful attack on our neighbors in Boulder was anti-Semitic,” U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado Peter McNeilly said in a statement. “All Americans should feel free to pursue their faith and way of life without fear that doing so will put their personal safety at risk.”
Federal prosecutors said Soliman has admitted to targeting the group because he believed they were either Jewish or of Israeli origin.
Soliman attacked attendees of a Run for Their Lives event in Boulder on June 1, 2025, with a makeshift flamethrower and Molotov cocktails. Participants in the group gathered weekly to walk or run in solidarity with Israelis who were held hostage by Hamas at that time. The attack killed one person and injured 12 others. Soliman yelled “Free Palestine” during the attack.
Soliman, an Egyptian national, was sentenced to life in prison in May after pleading guilty to 101 state charges, including first-degree murder, attempted murder, assault and explosives offenses, in connection with the attack. He is serving life in state prison.
The attack was conducted against a backdrop of rising anti-Semitic incidents reported in the United States and other nations amid Israel’s war in Gaza.