The US Department of Justice is expected to seek the death penalty for the man accused of killing Israeli Embassy staffers Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim in Washington, DC, back in May, CNN reports.
The suspect behind the attack, Elias Rodriguez, is expected to be indicted this week on federal hate crime charges, CNN states, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter. He has already been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, as well as other charges, including the murder of foreign officials.
By adding federal hate crime charges, the Department of Justice would be paving the way to hand down a death penalty to the alleged double murderer.
Rodriguez allegedly murdered Lischinsky, a research assistant in the Israeli Embassy’s political section, and his partner Milgrim, a member of the embassy’s administrative staff, outside an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in DC on May 22.
Police said at the time that Rodriguez had shouted “Free Palestine” after being taken into custody by event security.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, August 6, 2025
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
