The suspect in the Boulder firebomb attack that killed a person and injured 29 others is scheduled to plead guilty and get more than 400 years in prison Thursday.

Mohamed Soliman, 46, is accused of throwing two Molotov cocktails into a crowd of protesters on Pearl Street Mall in Boulder on June 1, 2025.

Karen Diamond, 82, died from her injuries after the attack and 29 other people and a dog were injured.

In state court, Soliman faces 184 charges including first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, assault and animal cruelty.

Soliman is expected to plead guilty to all charges in his state case in Boulder County District Court Thursday, a plea that comes with a life sentence without parole plus at least 400 years, according to a motion filed by his public defenders in his federal case on Sunday.

District Attorney Michael Dougherty declined to comment on the possibility of a guilty plea.

In August, Soliman offered to plead guilty in his federal case and accept a sentence of life in prison, but the government has not decided whether to accept the plea because a death penalty is also being considered, according to the motion.

Soliman faces 12 federal hate crime counts.

The motion filed Sunday in Soliman’s federal case asks that a judge block the deportation of his family, saying they may be needed as witnesses during court proceedings.

An FBI agent previously testified in court that there was no evidence to suggest that the family knew about Soliman’s plans to carry out the attack.

His ex-wife, Hayam El Gamal, and her five children, Egyptian nationals, were taken to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, in early June 2025, following the arrest of her then-husband.

U.S. District Judge Fred Biery ordered that the family be released from the facility in late April.

Later that day, when the family drove to Denver to make a court-ordered check-in with ICE, they were detained again and flown to Detroit, according to news reports.

The plane was rerouted and returned to Denver after Biery and another federal judge, Nina Wang, issued orders to halt their deportation.

Sunday’s motion asks that the judge prohibit their deportation “unless and until this court determines that their presence will not be required during any court proceeding in this case.”

If the government chooses to seek the death penalty for Soliman, he will need to present testimony from his ex-wife and their children during a sentencing trial, the motion said.

“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,” the motion states.

Gazette reporter O’Dell Isaac and Colorado Politics reporter Michael Karlik contributed to this report.