Two bench rows marked “reserved for victims” sat empty in the Boulder County Jail courtroom on Thursday, when a judge told Mohamed Sabry Soliman, who is accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at a group participating in a peaceful demonstration on the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder Sunday, that the state has filed 118 charges against him.

The charges filed by the 20th Judicial District Attorney’s Office included attempted first degree murder.

Soliman, 45, an Egyptian citizen who lived in the Colorado Springs area, was booked into the Boulder County jail late Sunday night after the attack, during which 15 people and a dog were injured, according to FBI Denver’s most recent update.

Of the 118 counts, 62 were for crimes committed against the victims. 

Those who watched the proceeding online were unable to see Soliman in the courtroom Thursday, as he nodded his understanding to Judge Nancy Woodruff Salomone of the charges against him, which include multiple counts of attempted murder with extreme indifference and after deliberation. 

Other charges include animal cruelty, assault on people 70 years old or older, use of incendiary devices and violent crime with a weapon, according to court documents.

Soliman’s next court appearance for the state charges is set for 1:30 p.m. on July 15.

Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said he is grateful for the “strong” police and fire response during the incident. 

Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said at a news conference on Thursday that the initial call came in at 1:26 p.m. and the first officers on scene were there four minutes later. Officers had the suspect in custody by 1:31 p.m., he said. 

The first fire unit arrived at 1:31 p.m., medical helicopters and the first fire engine with paramedics arrived on the scene at 1:32 p.m., and the first ambulance arrived at 1:33 p.m.

Dougherty said his office is working closely with federal, state and local partners in the investigation, which is ongoing. 

“We are united in our commitment to pursuing justice for all the victims, their many loved ones, and this community,” Dougherty said. “We stand with the Jewish community and the people of Colorado against hate and terror.”

At a news conference Monday afternoon, Acting U.S. Attorney J. Bishop Grewell said the U.S. Attorney’s Office is charging Soliman with a hate crime, which, if he is convicted, could result in life in prison.

Soliman will appear in court for the filing of federal charges at 2 p.m. on Friday in the Byron Rogers Courthouse. 

If he is convicted and given the maximum sentence for each of his charges, he faces up to 624 years in prison, officials said at a news conference on Monday.

He appeared in court for the first time on Monday afternoon, facing the judge with a bandage on his head. His initial $10 million cash-only bond amount was upheld at the hearing.

An affidavit released by authorities detailed how Soliman allegedly prepared for and carried out the attack, which occurred near 13th and Pearl streets during a “humanitarian walk” for hostages still being held by Hamas.

Over the last year, Soliman planned the attack on an organization called Run for their Lives, according to the affidavit. He was waiting for his eldest daughter to graduate from high school to carry out his plan, the affidavit said.

The daughter graduated on May 29.

To find Run for their Lives, he searched for Zionist groups online, he told a detective who interviewed him at the hospital after the attack, and he found the group that met weekly on Sundays in Boulder, according to the arrest affidavit.

He had planned to use a gun in the attack, even taking a concealed carry class, where he learned to shoot, but he was denied the purchase because of his legal status in the U.S., according to the affidavit. He decided to make Molotov cocktails, he told the detective.

That morning, Soliman left a a journal and an iPhone at his house with messages to his family, he told detectives. He then drove to a gas station, Target and Home Depot in Castle Rock, gathering supplies to make Molotov cocktails.

At 1 p.m., Soliman arrived at Pearl Street Mall dressed as a gardener to “get as close as possible” to the victims. He covered himself in gas because he “planned to die,” the affidavit said.

Shortly after, Soliman allegedly threw two Molotov cocktails into the crowd, while yelling, “Free Palestine.” The cocktails ignited in the crowd, officials said.

“Mohamed said he wanted them all to die and that was the plan,” the affidavit said, quoting what Soliman told detectives. “Mohamed said it was revenge as the Zionist group did not care about thousands of hostages from Palestine.”

He added that his attack had “nothing to do” with the Jewish community and that it specifically targeted the “Zionist group supporting the killings of people on his land (Palestine).”

The war started when Hamas stormed across the border into Israeli communities and killed more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took about 250 people into captivity in Gaza. Hamas still holds 58 people captive in Gaza, according to the American Jewish Committee. A Reuters report, citing Palestinian health authorities, said Israel’s ground and air campaign in Gaza has killed more than 50,000 people.