Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 46, pleaded guilty on Thursday to first-degree murder and 100 other charges for throwing Molotov cocktails at a rally of people demonstrating on behalf of the hostages, whom Hamas held in Gaza, in Boulder, Colo., on June 1, 2025.
Karen Diamond, 82, died from injuries sustained in the attack. Soliman also injured 14 people and reportedly yelled “free Palestine” during the assault and expressed intent to kill Zionists.
Michael Dougherty, Boulder County district attorney, said at a press conference that “this was an attack on the Jewish community and an act of terror.”
“Today we’ve seen the defendant held fully accountable and fully responsible for the horrific hate crime that he committed and the act of antisemitism he committed after planning it out and taking methodical and intentional steps to harm as many people in the Jewish community as he possibly could here in Boulder,” Dougherty said.
“The defendant is now going to spend the rest of his life in state prison, or federal prison, knowing he destroyed the lives of innocent, wonderful people,” the district attorney said. “And he killed Karen Diamond.”
“As much as this act was brutal and monstrous and horrific, it was also—and hear me loud and clear—cowardly, because you want to come to Boulder County, you want to go to any community and set innocent people on fire, you are truly a coward,” he added. “And we saw that reflected in the statements he made in court today too.”
Stephen Redfearn, chief of the Boulder Police Department, said at the press conference that he is “very thankful” for the verdict.
“That verdict sent a message, not only to the offender but also to anybody who thinks they can come and harm our community,” he said. “This targeted attack against our Jewish community was unacceptable, and this verdict here today provides some sense of justice.”
“I’ve seen a lot in my career, and this was not my first response to an incident of mass violence,” he said. “But this was one of the most heinous and cowardly crimes that I have ever seen.”
Soliman entered his guilty plea in Boulder County District Court, and reportedly faces the possibility of life in prison without parole. Prosecutors said that he still faces federal charges in a case where the death penalty remains a possibility.
The Boulder assault was one of several violent, antisemitic and anti-Israel incidents in the United States after Oct. 7 that drew national attention. A gunman killed two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, D.C., after an event at the Capital Jewish Museum on May 21, 2025, and an arsonist attacked the governor’s residence in Harrisburg shortly after Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who is Jewish, hosted a Passover Seder there on April 13, 2025.
The incidents were among 203 assaults recorded in the past year in the Anti-Defamation League’s annual audit of incidents of Jew-hatred, which noted an increase in violent attacks, even as overall antisemitic incidents declined.
The Anti-Defamation League stated that it welcomes the guilty plea from the man carried out “one of the most shocking antisemitic acts in American history.”
“This attack deeply traumatized the entire Jewish community and served as a reminder of what can happen when antisemitism is normalized in society,” the ADL stated. “No act of justice will bring back the life of Ms. Diamond, nor will it heal the wounds of those who suffered as a result of this horrific attack on a peaceful group of Americans.”
“This firebombing was not a random act. The perpetrator planned this attack for over a year, targeting Jewish community members who were peacefully and publicly expressing their values,” the nonprofit said. “This demands a serious response, but the resolution of the state charges is just the beginning of the long road to justice for the victims.”
The Trump administration has sought to deport members of Soliman’s family despite court orders blocking removal, according to Eric Lee, an attorney for Soliman’s ex-wife and her family. “The El Gamal family is thinking of all the victims who suffered because of what Mr. Soliman did,” Lee told USA Today.
Lauren Bis, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, told USA Today that the agency would not back down.
“Under President Trump, DHS will continue to fight for the removal of those who have no right to be in our country—especially terrorists and their associates,” she stated. “We are confident the courts will ultimately vindicate us.”
