A man facing allegations of throwing Molotov cocktails at demonstrators in Boulder, Colorado, who were rallying for Israeli hostages, entered a not guilty plea to federal hate crime charges on Friday.
Mohamed Sabry Soliman was charged earlier this week with 12 hate crime offenses related to the June 1 incident. He is accused of attempting to kill eight individuals who were injured by the Molotov cocktails, along with others in the vicinity.
Soliman’s attorney, David Kraut, entered the not guilty plea on Soliman’s behalf during a quick hearing.
Magistrate Judge Kathryn Starnella noted that lawyers had acknowledged that a plea agreement in the case was possible later.
Soliman, dressed in a khaki prison outfit, entered the courtroom with a smile, clutching an envelope in his cuffed hands. His right hand and arm were heavily bandaged, a result of burns sustained while allegedly throwing the second of two Molotov cocktails at the group, as revealed by an investigator’s testimony last week.
He listened to a translation of the hearing provided by an Arabic interpreter through headphones. He did not speak during the hearing.
Investigators say Soliman told them he intended to kill the roughly 20 participants at the weekly demonstration on Boulder’s Pearl Street pedestrian mall. But he threw just two of his over two dozen Molotov cocktails while yelling “Free Palestine.”
Soliman, who is also being prosecuted in state court for attempted murder and other charges, told investigators he tried to buy a gun but was not able to because he was not a “legal citizen.”
He posed as a gardener, wearing a construction vest, to get close to the group before launching the attack, according to court documents. He was also indicted for using fire and an explosive to attack the group and for carrying an explosive, which were included in the hate crime counts.
Federal authorities say Soliman, an Egyptian national, has been living in the U.S. illegally with his family.
Soliman is being represented in state and federal court by public defenders who do not comment on their cases to the media.
Prosecutors say the victims were targeted because of their perceived or actual national origin.
At a hearing last week, Kraut, Soliman’s defense attorney, urged Starnella not to allow the case to move forward. Kraut said the alleged attack was not a hate crime. He said it was motivated by opposition to Zionism, the 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.
