Boulder attack survivors describe lasting trauma as perpetrator pleads guilty to more than 100 charges
A man who threw Molotov cocktails at a largely Jewish crowd marching for the release of Israeli hostages on Boulder's Pearl Street last year pleaded guilty Thursday to more than 100 charges, as survivors described the lasting trauma from the attack.
Jean Unger, who attended the march last June, addressed the court during Thursday's hearing.
"Watching people fall on the ground with flames leaping up their legs, feeling the heat on my ankles," Unger said.
Over several hours, survivors and loved ones described how the attack continues to affect their daily lives.
"My sense of safety really got crushed on that day," Unger said. "I had an Israeli flag on my house for the longest time and took it down recently. Just outward displays of my Judaism — I still wear my Star of David, and I think I always will. I'm very proud of my people, and I'm not going to hide, but I do have a lot more fear for my safety."
Unger said she has leaned on fellow survivors for support in the months since the attack.
"This community of people, starting with Run for Their Lives, the broader group, has become my community for the past two and a half years," she said.
Mohamed Soliman admitted to the attack on the Pearl Street Mall in June 2025 during a demonstration in support of Israeli captives held by Hamas, throwing two Molotov cocktails at the group, killing one person and injuring more than a dozen others.
Judge Nancy Salomone said she reviewed every victim impact statement submitted in the case before imposing the maximum sentence on every charge.
"People need to know what happened that day," Unger said. "I would hope that anyone who is considering a hateful act like this will see that there are consequences."
The judge handed down a life in prison without the possibility of parole sentence for the first-degree murder conviction, in addition to 2,128 years in prison for the other charges.
When asked whether the verdict provided any closure, Unger said the sentencing was necessary.
"To an extent, I think it had to," Unger said. "It needed to happen. I'm very glad that the court came through and justice was served."
With a federal trial still ahead, Unger said she hopes Thursday's sentencing sends a message that hate has no place in Colorado.
"We are a group of kind, loving people, nonviolent people, peaceful people, who take care of each other, who take care of the world," she said. "That's what I want people to know."
Soliman also faces 12 federal hate crime charges. That trial has been scheduled to begin on June 1 at the U.S. District Court in downtown Denver.
