Molotov cocktail-thrower pleads guilty to federal hate crimes

A man already found guilty of firebombing a group of protesters in Boulder, Co., pleaded guilty on Thursday to a dozen federal hate crime charges. Mohamed Soliman admitted that he targeted individuals of Israeli national origin and of Jewish religion during his attack at Pearl Street Mall in June 2025, the Department of Justice said. He yelled “free Palestine” before throwing two Molotov cocktails at a gathering of pro-Israel advocates. The group calling itself Run for Their Lives organized walks to draw attention to the hostages still held by terrorists after the October 7, 2023, attacks in Israel. Soliman’s attack killed an 82-year-old grandmother and caused permanent and life-threatening injuries to several others, the DOJ said.

Soliman pleaded guilty to more than 100 state charges in May, according to Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty. He received a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus 2,128 years.

Why add the federal charges? Thursday’s guilty plea proved that Soliman committed this terror attack based on hate and bias. Soliman admitted the antisemitic motivation for his attack, added Jarod Brown, part of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division.

Soliman, an Egyptian national, will be sentenced for the federal charges in January 2027.

Dig deeper: Read Leo Briceno’s report for Roundups on the House of Representatives’ resolution denouncing Soliman.