Man charged in Boulder firebombing attack to change plea on federal charges

The man responsible for a firebombing attack on a Boulder walk for Israeli hostages is looking to change his plea on the federal charges against him. The attack killed one person and injured more than a dozen others.

Mohammed Soliman pleaded guilty to state charges, including first-degree murder, in May after admitting to throwing Molotov cocktails at the group at the Pearl Street Mall in June 2025. The attack critically injured 82-year-old Karen Diamond, who died of her injuries almost a month later. Soliman was immediately sentenced to life in prison without parole and at least 400 years.

He attacked a group organized by Run for Their Lives, who had been walking every Sunday for more than a year in order to bring awareness to Israeli hostages still held by Hamas. Soliman faces 12 federal charges in connection with the attack, including nine hate crime charges, to which he pleaded not guilty.

But on Friday, Soliman's lawyers filed two documents with the court; the first indicates that both sides have reached an agreement in the case and requests a change-of-plea hearing.

The second filing is a motion to withdraw requests to stop the deportation of Soliman's family from the United States.

Hayam el Gamal divorced Soliman after the attack. His family has said he spent little time at home before the incident and was often withdrawn. An FBI agent testified in a hearing for Mohammed Soliman last year that there's no indication the family had prior knowledge of the attack.

Soliman's lawyers previously argued that the family can't be removed because they're witnesses in his federal case.

The Department of Homeland Security detained El Gamal and her five children at a center in Dilley, Texas, for more than 10 months. They tried to deport the family in April, despite a court order prohibiting their removal, before they were returned to Colorado.