BOULDER, COLORADO — A Accused man After a firebomb attack that killed one person and injured dozens of others during a demonstration last year in Boulder, Colorado, in support of… Israeli hostages The defendant in Gaza was scheduled to plead guilty on Thursday to murder and other charges.
Muhammad Sabri Suleiman faces a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the attack that occurred in downtown Boulder on June 1.
Suleiman’s lawyer He revealed that he would plead guilty In a recent lawsuit in a related federal case. He is scheduled to appear Thursday before State District Judge Nancy Salomon to do so.
Suleiman has pleaded not guilty in federal court Hate crime charges Prosecutors were considering whether to seek the death penalty in the federal case, according to his attorney.
Solomon initially pleaded not guilty in state court to murder and dozens of attempted murder and assault charges for throwing two Molotov cocktails at protesters in a pedestrian mall in downtown Boulder, a city of 100,000 northwest of Denver that is home to the University of Colorado.
An 82-year-old woman who was injured in the attack later died. Dozens of others were also injured.
Soliman is an Egyptian citizen that federal authorities say he was Living in the United States illegally. Investigators allege he planned the attack for a year and was motivated by desire “To kill all the Zionist people“.
Boulder Mayor Tim Tara Weiner said the attack was horrific and the victims included close friends.
Suleiman was living with his family in a two-bedroom apartment in Colorado Springs — about 97 miles (156 kilometers) away — at the time of the attack. He had moved to the United States from Kuwait in 2022 with his wife and their five children and worked a series of low-paying jobs.
The couple split in April.
Investigators allege that Solomon told them he intended to kill approximately 20 participants in the weekly demonstration at the Boulder Pearl Street pedestrian mall. He threw two of the more than twenty Molotov cocktails he had with him, shouting: “Free Palestine!”
Federal prosecutors allege that the victims were targeted because of their actual or perceived ties to Israel. Solomon’s federal defense attorneys say he should not have been charged with hate crimes because he was motivated by opposition to Zionism, the political movement aimed at creating and maintaining a Jewish state in Israel.
An attack motivated by someone’s political views is not considered a hate crime under federal law.