Boulder, Colorado, attack suspect formally charged with 118 counts of attempted murder, other charges in county court

The suspect in Sunday’s attack on a march for Israeli hostages in Boulder, Colorado, was formally charged with 118 state criminal charges, including 28 counts of attempted murder, in county court on Thursday afternoon.

Prosecutors filed formal charges against 45-year-old Mohamed Soliman less than a week after the attack he’s accused of carrying out. He’s currently being held in the Boulder County Jail on a $10 million bond.

According to court records, he’s now charged with 28 counts of attempted first-degree murder — 14 of which are “with extreme indifference, and 14 are “after deliberation — all class 2 felonies; 14 counts of first-degree assault with extreme indifference, a class 4 felony; two counts of use of an explosives or incendiary device, a class 2 felony; 14 counts of attempted use of an explosives or incendiary devices, a class 3 felony; and 60 violent crime sentence enhancers.

Soliman appeared via live stream from the Boulder County Jail, now without the bandage that wrapped his head and ear on Monday. His defense attorney and prosecutors appeared in Boulder County District Judge Nancy Salomone courtroom across town.

Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said on Monday afternoon that Soliman will be charged in state court with 16 counts of attempted first-degree murder, eight of which are “with intent and deliberation,” the other eight of which are “with extreme indifference.” He’s also set to be charged with two counts of use of an incendiary device and 16 counts of attempted use of an incendiary device.

Soliman also faces federal hate crime charges, but that would come in his separate federal court case. He’s set to appear in federal court in Denver on Friday. J. Bishop Grewell, acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado, said additional federal charges might also be forthcoming.

The cases and charges stem from Sunday’s attack in which Soliman is accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at members of the group Run for Their Lives, injuring 15 people and a dog. Two of those people were airlifted to UCHealth’s burn unit due to the severity of their burns, hospital officials said. The group walks through the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder every week, advocating for the release of Israeli hostages taken to Gaza in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack.

Video from multiple witnesses appears to show Soliman during the attack holding two jars or bottles with a clear liquid that investigators say contained gasoline.

Soliman was arrested at the scene and taken into custody without incident, according to Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn and witnesses’ video.

Soliman appeared in Boulder County Court with a bandage on his head and ear on Monday. He was advised of his rights, ordered not to have any contact with the alleged victims, and the bond amount was upheld by the judge. The hearing lasted approximately five minutes.

Soliman is being represented by the State Office of the Public Defender. He’s due back in court on July 15 at 1:30 p.m. MST.