FBI examines writings linked to suspect in killing of two Israeli embassy aides

FBI and police investigators are poring over apparent writings and political affiliations of a man arrested as the lone suspect in the fatal shooting of a pair of Israeli embassy aides outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington.

The Chicago-born suspect, Elias Rodriguez, 30, is accused of opening fire on a group of people on Wednesday night as they left an event for young diplomats hosted by the American Jewish Committee, an advocacy group that supports Israel and confronts antisemitism.

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino posts on social media that investigators were “aware of certain writings allegedly authored by the suspect” and hoped to soon have updates regarding their authenticity.

Bongino’s statement appears to refer to a manifesto signed with Rodriguez’s name that was posted to an anonymous X account on Wednesday night shortly before the shooting.

Posted with the title “Escalate For Gaza, Bring The War Home,” it condemned Israel’s killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians since the October 2023 Hamas attacks, and discussed the morality of “armed” action.

FBI Director Kash Patel called the bloodshed an “act of terror,” although US Attorney General Pam Bondi told reporters that authorities believe the suspect acted alone.

Investigators are also delving into the apparent political affiliations of the suspect, who worked for a healthcare nonprofit and was believed to have had past ties to far-left groups.

FBI agents are seen at his apartment in Chicago on Thursday, where law enforcement blocked off the street.

Rodriguez was once affiliated with a far-left group in Chicago, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, according to a post from the group on X. The group said that Rodriguez had a brief association with a PSL branch that ended in 2017 and that they knew of no contact with him in more than seven years.

Rodriguez was also identified in a 2018 local news report as a member of the Chicago branch of a national group called ANSWER, an acronym for Act Now to Stop War and End Racism, which has organized demonstrations in solidarity with Palestinians.

Rodriguez worked at the healthcare nonprofit American Osteopathic Information Association, the organization confirmed in a statement expressing sympathy for the victims.

He had also worked as an oral history researcher at The HistoryMakers, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving African American stories, according to a now-deleted biography on the group’s website.

Rodriguez was born and raised in Chicago and graduated from the University of Illinois Chicago with an English degree, the deleted page said. He previously worked as a content writer for commercial and noncommercial technology firms, the page said.