The Boulder, Colorado, firebombing suspect pleaded guilty to all state charges after an attack on protesters in June 2025.
Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 46, was charged in both state and federal court for allegedly throwing Molotov cocktails at a group of peaceful protesters who were demonstrating for the release of Israeli hostages on June 1, 2025.
In total, the Boulder County District Attorney's Office identified more than 20 victims, about half of whom were physically injured. One of those victims, an 82-year-old woman, later died of her injuries. According to Soliman's arrest affidavit, he said he had been planning the attack for a year.
RELATED STORY | Suspect in Boulder attack on pro-Israel demonstrators charged with federal hate crimes
The 101 substantive charges against Soliman include murder, attempted murder, first-degree assault, attempted assault, possession of an incendiary device and attempted possession of an incendiary device. The judge also noted Soliman was charged with 68 sentence enhancers related to crimes of violence. At the federal level, he was also charged with 12 hate crime counts.
On August 27, 2025, Soliman offered to plead guilty in his federal case and accept a sentence of life in prison. As of Thursday, the government had not yet decided if it would accept this because it is still considering whether it will pursue the death penalty.
Federal authorities said at the time of the attack in Boulder, Soliman, an Egyptian national, was living illegally in the United States with his wife and five children. The attorneys for the family said they "entered the United States legally in August 2022 and subsequently overstayed their visas awaiting determinations on their affirmative asylum applications."
Shortly after the attack, now-former Secretary of U.S. Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said Soliman's family was taken into immigration custody. The White House posted on social media that the family was in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody for "expedited removal."
In April, U.S. District Judge Fred Biery, an immigration judge based in Texas, ordered the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to release Soliman's detained family, as long as they appear at future immigration hearings.
The family had been detained at a Texas immigration center for more than 10 months. Judge Biery said in April that he had found no evidence that the family knew about Soliman's plot to attack.
Sunday's filing reads that the court has the authority to order the government not to remove the family because they are considered "critical material witnesses" and would be required to testify in court if the federal government decides to continue with the death penalty.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | Judge rules family should be released from ICE detention to pursue asylum case
"If they (the federal government) choose to pursue the death penalty, Mr. Soliman will need to present testimony from his ex-wife and their children during a sentencing trial," it reads. "However, while one arm of the executive branch – the Department of Justice – is deciding whether to seek Mr. Soliman’s death, another – the Department of Homeland Security – is trying to permanently remove these critical material witnesses from the country."
"If the government removes these key witnesses and seeks the death penalty against Mr. Soliman, the ensuing proceedings will violate Mr. Soliman’s Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendment rights," the filing continues. "This Court must protect those rights, and the integrity of these proceedings, by preventing this problem before it happens."
The family returned to Colorado in late April. Soliman's wife has since filed for divorce, according to a statement from the family's attorneys.
This story was originally published by Joe Vaccarelli, Jaclyn Allen and Stephanie Butzer with the Scripps News Group in Denver.
