A Colorado court sentenced Egyptian national Mohamed Soliman to life in prison on Thursday after he confessed to the 2025 deadly incendiary attack on a pro-Israel gathering, Reuters reported.
Soliman, 46, entered a guilty plea to numerous charges, including first-degree murder.
The court proceedings
Appearing in Boulder County Court in prison attire, Soliman utilized an Arabic interpreter to confirm his plea as each charge was read.
Following the admission, the judge imposed the maximum penalty permitted under state law: life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
Details of the assault
The conviction stems from an indictment featuring 184 counts related to the June 1, 2025, attack.
According to stipulated court documents:
The act: Soliman hurled two Molotov cocktails into a pro-Israel crowd assembled in downtown Boulder.
The victims: Authorities identified 29 individuals directly targeted. Fourteen suffered burns or injuries while fleeing, while 15 others were classified as victims of attempted murder due to their proximity to the blasts.
The fatality: One woman died later that month from injuries sustained during the firebombing.
Motive and premeditation
Prosecutorial affidavits revealed how calculated the attack was. Following his arrest, Soliman reportedly told investigators his intent was to “kill all Zionists.”
He confessed to planning the massacre for an entire year, only delaying the execution of his plan until after his daughter’s high school graduation, according to Reuters.
Investigators also noted that Soliman turned to improvised incendiary devices because his legal status as a non-US citizen barred him from purchasing firearms.
Federal charges and the global context
Despite the state-level life sentence, Soliman’s legal battles are not over.
He faces separate federal hate crime charges that carry a potential death sentence. While defense filings suggest Soliman offered to plead guilty in the federal case in exchange for a life sentence, the government has yet to accept the deal.
The incident occurred against a backdrop of extreme civil unrest in the US, fueled by the devastating conflict in Gaza.
Recent figures indicate the war has resulted in over 71,000 Palestinian deaths and 200,000 injuries, with nearly 90 percent of Gaza’s housing destroyed and over two million people displaced.
