A man charged with murder, attempted murder and other crimes in a firebomb attack on peaceful demonstrators in Boulder waived his rights to a preliminary hearing Tuesday, paving the way to a criminal trial in state court.
Wearing an orange-and-white striped jail uniform and his hands cuffed in front of his body, Mohamed Soliman briefly stood up twice in Boulder District Court to confirm he understood his decision to move straight to an arraignment hearing, when he could enter a plea of guilty or not guilty.
This image provided by the Boulder Police Dept. shows Mohamed Sabry Soliman. (Boulder Police Dept. via AP)“Mr. Soliman, you understand me clearly today — we’re acting at this time without an Arabic interpreter and I want to make sure you understand the waiver of the preliminary hearing,” District Court Judge Nancy Woodruff Salomone asked.
“Yes, I understand,” Soliman replied before sitting back down next to his attorneys, who requested an interpreter be present at all future hearings.
Federal authorities say the Egyptian national was illegally living near Colorado Springs before the attack, which Soliman admitted to planning for more than a year.
In court Tuesday, Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty and a detective with Boulder Police Department were ready to lay out evidence against Soliman, who is accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at a group of about 20 people while yelling, “Free Palestine!”
Soliman disguised himself as a gardener to get close enough to his intended victims before carrying out his attack on the Pearl Street Mall, investigators said in court documents.
The marchers were part of a group called “Run for Their Lives,” which organized walks every Sunday to raise awareness of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
The district attorney’s office said 13 people were injured during the attack in front of the Boulder County Courthouse that many have described antisemitic. Karen Diamond, an 82-year-old who was active in the Boulder community, later died from her injuries.
During Tuesday’s approximately 15-minute hearing, Kathryn Herod, Soliman’s public defender, told the judge she needed a “significant amount of time” to review the large amount of evidence in the case and requested an arraignment for December.
Dougherty objected and requested an arraignment as soon as possible.
Herod asked again for more time so that Soliman could receive “effective assistance of counsel” and said Soliman will not be in a position to enter a plea before December.
The judge denied her request and set Soliman’s arraignment for Sept. 9.
Soliman also faces 12 federal hate crimes.
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