Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 46, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, pleaded guilty in federal court on Thursday to 12 hate crimes charges for using Molotov cocktails to attack members of a group called Run for Their Lives and others, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
According to the department, Soliman admitted in his plea agreement that on June 1, 2025, he lit and threw two Molotov cocktails into a gathering of the group’s Boulder chapter. The attack killed one person and caused permanent and life-threatening injuries to several others, the department said.
Run for Their Lives organized walks across the United States to raise awareness for hostages still held after the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks in Israel, according to the Justice Department. Soliman admitted he targeted the group because of the victims’ actual or perceived Israeli national origin and Jewish religion, the department said.
For nine of the charges, Soliman faces a maximum penalty of life in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. For the other three, he faces a maximum of 50 years in prison, to run consecutive to any other prison term, along with three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
A federal district court judge will decide the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing is set for Jan. 7, 2027.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division said the department hopes the plea will “deliver a measure of justice to the victims and their families.” She said the division remains committed to prosecuting bias-motivated violence.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado Peter McNeilly said that by Soliman’s own admissions, the attack was antisemitic. He thanked the victims and the Boulder community for their trust and support during the prosecution.
Jarod Brown, assistant director of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division, said Soliman is admitting his guilt with the plea. Amanda Koldjeski, special agent in charge of the FBI Denver Field Office, said the chaos Soliman inflicted spread far beyond Pearl Street, Boulder and Colorado.
The FBI Denver Field Office and the Boulder Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melissa Basche and Daniel Pastor of the District of Colorado, along with Civil Rights Division Criminal Section trial attorneys Sarah Howard and Khalil Quinan, are prosecuting it.