DENVER, Colo. — The man accused of executing a terror attack in Boulder on Sunday appeared in front of a federal judge for the first time Friday afternoon.
Mohamed Soliman, 45, is accused of throwing Molotov cocktails into a crowd of people marching with a group Run for Their Lives, which supports the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
On top of 118 local criminal charges, Soliman is facing one federal hate crime charge.
"The defendant here has been charged with the Matthew Shepard Act, which is a federal hate crime that criminalizes certain types of conduct or actions or crimes that carry a motivation of bias," explained former Assistant U.S. Attorney Hatel Doshi, who spoke with Scripps News Denver Investigates on Monday and has since announced her candidacy for Colorado Attorney General.
Soliman walked into the courtroom wearing a green inmate uniform and handcuffed. The right side of Soliman's face was clearly burned, and the bandages that covered his head earlier in the week had been removed.
The suspect communicated with the judge through an interpreter, speaking Arabic.
The courtroom was packed with reporters and law enforcement agents who were there to witness Soliman acknowledge his rights, which were read aloud by the judge.
A prosecutor stated the charge against Soliman: one count of a hate crime offense involving the actual or perceived race, religion, or national origin.
According to federal court documents, investigators said Soliman admitted to planning the attack for about a year.
Soliman reportedly told investigators he attacked the group because "he wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead."
The documents claim Soliman targeted the group after learning about them online. The demonstrators marched on a weekly basis.
"It's always interesting when a defendant speaks that freely afterward, and it's chilling that it's been reported that he said he would do it again. And, you know, this is an important point as to why hate crime laws exist," Doshi said.
According to federal statute, it is a felony when a defendant employs a weapon that has traveled across state lines.
The federal arrest document reveals the FBI believes "the wine carafe bottles and the gasoline used to make the Molotov cocktails are not manufactured within the District of Colorado and have traveled in interstate or foreign commerce."
The prosecutor stated the normal penalty for this charge is no more than 10 years in prison, but if the charge includes an attempt to kill, a perpetrator could be sentenced to life in prison.
Soliman will remain in custody and obtain court-appointed defense attorneys.
He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on June 18.
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