Man pleads guilty to federal hate crimes in deadly Boulder firebombing of demonstrators
Photo: APMohamed Soliman, an Egyptian national, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Denver to hate crime and other charges for a June 2025 firebombing in Boulder, Colorado, that killed one person and injured others at a demonstration. The Washington Examiner reported he is 47. He entered pleas on nine federal hate crime counts and three federal explosives counts, a dozen in all, and the judge found him competent to plead to every count. Prosecutors said he threw two Molotov cocktails at members of Run for Their Lives, a group that walked weekly in Boulder to call attention to hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Karen Diamond, 82, died and 12 others were hurt. U.S. Attorney Peter McNeilly said Soliman admitted acting because of the group's Jewish religion and Israeli national origin. Soliman 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 federal plea adds another life sentence, according to AP.
Left-leaning CBS News leads with the procedural sequence: the change of plea at the Arraj Courthouse at 10 a.m., the earlier state plea, the life sentence plus 2,128 years, and the earlier not-guilty plea. It describes the weekly marches and quotes a line on why the federal case matters because it holds Soliman responsible for a hateful ideology. It does not name the victim in the excerpt. The right-leaning Washington Examiner leads with the antisemitic motive in its headline, naming Jews as the targets. It gives his age, the count breakdown, the victim's name and age, the report that he yelled "Free Palestine," and McNeilly's statement on antisemitism. Both sides agree on the plea, the two Molotov cocktails and the group targeted. They differ in emphasis: CBS stresses the state-federal case history, while the Examiner stresses motive, the victim and the prosecutor's words. AP's excerpt stands closest to CBS, focusing on the additional life sentence.
How the sides differ Left sources emphasize the state-federal case sequence and sentences; right sources stress antisemitism, the victim's identity and the U.S. Attorney's statement; alternative sources stress the additional life sentence.
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CBS News leads with the federal change of plea, the earlier state convictions and sentences, and the court timeline, quoting a prosecutor-style statement on why the federal case matters.
AP reports the Denver plea to federal hate crimes and says Soliman faces an additional life sentence on top of his existing life term plus hundreds of years.
The Washington Examiner stresses the antisemitic motive, naming the victim, Karen Diamond, and quoting U.S. Attorney Peter McNeilly, plus details like the 'Free Palestine' shout and count breakdown.