Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Hate Crimes in Deadly Boulder Firebombing of Hostage Rally
Photo: Washington ExaminerMohamed Soliman, a 47-year-old Egyptian national, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Colorado to nine hate crime counts and three explosives charges over the June 2025 firebombing of a Run for Their Lives rally in Boulder. He now faces an additional life sentence. Prosecutors said he threw two Molotov cocktails at people marching on the Pearl Street Mall in support of hostages held by Hamas, shouting a pro-Palestinian slogan. Karen Diamond, 82, died about three weeks after the attack, and 12 others were injured. One hate crime count covers her death, and eight cover attempts to kill other marchers. At the 10 a.m. hearing at the Arraj Courthouse, the judge found him competent to plead to every count. He had pleaded not guilty to the federal charges on June 27, 2025. In May he pleaded guilty to more than 100 state charges, including first-degree murder, and received life without parole plus 2,128 years. The U.S. Attorney's Office said he admitted acting because of the group's Jewish religion and Israeli national origin. U.S. Attorney Peter McNeilly said the attack was antisemitic by Soliman's own admissions.
The Washington Examiner and Just the News, on the right, lead with the antisemitic motive. The Examiner's headline says the crimes targeted Jews and relies on McNeilly's statement and the U.S. Attorney's Office account. Just the News headlines the "Free Palestine" shout, cites the Associated Press on the additional life term, and includes the Diamond family's description of her "indescribable pain." CBS News and CNN, on the left, frame it as a court milestone. CNN's headline stresses the guilty plea to federal hate crimes and the additional life sentence. CBS adds procedural detail: the competency finding, the earlier not-guilty plea, the 2,128-year state sentence and the group's weekly marches. Neither left headline mentions Jewish victims or the slogan, though both call the charges hate crimes. All sides agree on the plea, the charges and the existing life sentence. The Times of Israel's report largely matches the right's emphasis.
How the sides differ Right sources stress the antisemitic motive, the attacker's slogan and the prosecutor's statement; left sources emphasize court procedure and the combined state and federal sentences; alternative sources match the right.
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