The man accused of throwing Molotov cocktails into a crowd of pro-Israel marchers in Boulder that killed a woman and injured 29 others pleaded guilty Thursday to more than 100 state charges and was sentenced to life in prison, plus another 2,000 years in jail.

2,128 years — to be exact.

Boulder County District Court Judge Nancy Salomone sentenced Mohamed Sabry Soliman, who faced 101 charges, to the maximum sentence on almost every count, and she said they must be served consecutively.

The 46-year-old was arrested shortly after the June 1, 2025 attack on the Pearl Street Mall.

Soliman, who plotted the attack for more than a year, threw two Molotov cocktails into a group of people calling for the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. He brought 18 Molotov cocktails with him.

Soliman is an Egyptian national who U.S. authorities say was in the country illegally.

Karen Diamond, 82, died from her injuries after the attack, along with a dog, while 29 people were injured.

Prosecutors called the attack an act of antisemitic terrorism against the group Run for their Lives, who regularly marched on Pearl Street to raise awareness about the Gaza hostages.

In a packed courtroom Thursday, Soliman appeared in handcuffs. He was also shackled, wearing an orange and white striped Boulder County jail jumpsuit.

Speaking through an Arabic interpreter, Soliman pleaded guilty to a slew of counts, including first-degree murder, attempted murder, first and third-degree assault, intent to commit assault, use of explosives and incendiary devices and animal cruelty.

Following the guilty pleas, the case went immediately to the sentencing phase. Victims spoke to the judge, many of whom said the attack left them with lasting trauma and anxiety. During the hearing, many of the victims wiped their eyes, held hands with one another and prayed.

‘Fate worse than death’

The sons of Diamond, Ethan and Andrew, submitted a statement to the court, which was read by Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty. In their statement, Diamond’s sons said she suffered immensely in a burn intensive care unit for three weeks after the attack before ultimately succumbing to her injuries.

“In those weeks, we learned the full meaning of the expressions ‘living hell’ and ‘fate worse than death,'” the statement read.

Diamond’s sons said her death has left Louis Diamond, her husband of 58 years, alone in a home they built and shared together, and robbed Diamond’s children and grandchildren of getting to spend time with her.

Diamond’s sons asked that Soliman never get to see his family again, just as they will never get to see their mother again.

In a statement to the court, Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn asked for Soliman to receive the maximum sentence allowed by law in order to send a message.

He said that, while he has responded to three mass shootings during his years in law enforcement, no amount of training could have prepared his officers for what they saw on the day of the firebombing attack.

“Nothing prepares you to see women, innocent people being burned,” he said.

After the attack, Redfearn said, the department increased police presence at public events. 

Dougherty similarly called for Soliman to receive the maximum sentence. In a presentation laying out the facts of the case, Dougherty said Soliman had tried to get a gun before the attack, instead resorting to using Molotov cocktails when he failed to obtain a firearm.

Dougherty also said Soliman purchased a gardener’s disguise in order to get as close as possible to the group before beginning the attack. He purchased materials to make the Molotov cocktails in Colorado Springs, where he lived with his family, before driving to Boulder to carry out the attack.

Body camera footage was also played, which showed Soliman saying he had been planning the attack for about a year in order to “send a message.”

Dougherty called the attack brutal, monstrous and cowardly.

“It’s hard to picture the pain, trauma and terror the defendant inflicted,” he said. “I can’t think of another case where a defendant set people on fire to try and kill them.”

Soliman: Give me the death penalty

In a lengthy personal statement, Soliman joined Dougherty and Redfearn in calling for the maximum sentence to be given to him. He also asked to be given the death penalty in his federal case, and lamented that it was not on the table in the state case.

“I find that to be the justice for Mrs. Diamond,” Soliman said in Arabic.

Soliman apologized to Diamond’s family. He apologized by name to each of the people who spoke in court on Thursday. He also apologized to his family and asked for their forgiveness.

In his statement, Soliman denied harboring antisemitic beliefs and said he respected the Jewish community but was opposed to Israel and Zionism. He also repeatedly said he regretted his actions because they were inconsistent with the teachings of Islam.

Finishing his statement, he called Zionism a “mutual enemy” for the world. Afterward, Salomone, the judge, said she believes the most severe punishment is the most appropriate sentence for Soliman.

“You chose to victimize people peacefully gathering, one of the most sacred rights a government can give its citizens,” she said. “Your choices were acts of terror, and those choices are intolerable.”

Soliman was given the maximum sentence possible on each charge except for the animal cruelty and third-degree assault charges, which carried a maximum sentence of a year in county jail.

Since Soliman had been in custody since June 1, Salomone credited him with time served on those charges as to remove him from Boulder County so he could begin serving his life plus 2,128 years sentence.

In state court, Soliman originally faced 184 charges.

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 a motion filed in the federal case. He faces 12 federal hate crime counts.

Soliman’s attorneys revealed he would plead guilty in a Sunday court filing in a related federal case. Soliman has meanwhile pleaded not guilty to federal hate crime charges.

Soliman’s federal attorneys have said in court filings the attack “was profoundly inconsistent” with Soliman’s prior conduct and “came as a total shock to his family.”

Soliman had been living with his family in a two-bedroom apartment in Colorado Springs — about 97 miles away — at the time of the attack. He had moved to the U.S. from Kuwait in 2022 with his wife and their five children and worked a series of low-paying jobs.

The couple divorced in April.

Investigators alleged Soliman told them he intended to kill the roughly 20 participants at the weekly demonstration at Boulder’s Pearl Street pedestrian mall.

Police said he told them he got scared because he had never hurt anyone before.

Federal prosecutors alleged the victims were targeted because of their perceived or actual connection to Israel.

Soliman’s federal defense lawyers argue he should not have been charged with hate crimes because he was motivated by opposition to Zionism, the political movement to establish and sustain a Jewish state in Israel.

An attack motivated by someone’s political views is not considered a hate crime under federal law.

Soliman’s wife, Hayam El Gamal, and their children spent 10 months in immigration detention until a federal judge in Texas ordered their release in April.

An immigration appeals court had dismissed their case to stay in the U.S. and issued a deportation order. But U.S. District Judge Fred Biery in San Antonio allowed their release on the condition that El Gamal and her oldest child, who is 18, wear electronic monitoring.

Soliman’s attorneys are seeking to block the family’s deportation until a judge determines they won’t need to be present for court proceedings in his federal case.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.