From the Liveblog of
Thursday, August 7, 2025
US charges suspect in killing of Israeli Embassy staffers with hate crimes, paving way to seeking death penalty
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
The US brings federal hate crime charges against the suspect accused of fatally shooting two Israeli Embassy staffers outside a museum in Washington, DC, in May, alleging he targeted them because they were Israelis, court papers show.
The nine-count indictment returned against Elias Rodriguez accuses him of carrying out a hate crime resulting in death motivated by the “actual and perceived national origin of any person.”
The indictment also includes notice of special findings, which would allow the Justice Department to potentially pursue the death penalty.
Rodriguez has previously been charged with first-degree murder and murder of a foreign official. The hate crimes charges have been added after prosecutors brought the case to a grand jury. It means prosecutors will be tasked with proving Rodriguez was motivated by antisemitism
Rodriguez is accused of fatally shooting Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, a young couple who were about to be engaged to be married. Lischinsky and Milgrim were leaving a May 21 event for young professionals and diplomats at the Capital Jewish Museum and hosted by the American Jewish Committee, an advocacy group that fights antisemitism and supports Israel.
He was heard shouting “Free Palestine” as he was led away after his arrest. He told police, “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza,” federal authorities have said.
The indictment by a federal grand jury comes ahead of a scheduled court appearance in Rodriguez’s case on Friday.
It alleges Rodriguez has a history of violent rhetoric online against Israelis, including a plea to “vaporize every Israeli 18 and above.”
The Times of Israel Community.