US prosecutors consider death penalty for alleged killer of Israeli embassy staffers

Washington District Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Thursday that US federal prosecutors are examining a possible death penalty sentence for Elias Rodriguez, the alleged killer of two Israeli embassy staffers.

On Wednesday, US prosecutors brought federal hate crime charges against Rodriguez for the shooting outside a Jewish museum in Washington, DC, in May that killed Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26.

The nine-count indictment said that Rodriguez targeted the victims for being Israeli, and made him eligible for the death penalty if convicted.

Pirro said at a press conference on Thursday that Rodriguez had a manifesto that stated he carried out the shooting “to demonstrate his hatred for the people of Israel.”

She said Rodriguez, after the shooting, “pulled out a red keffiyeh and yelled, ‘I did it for Palestine.’”

The district attorney also quoted an alleged social media post by Rodriguez, reading: “Please, please, please, God, please, vaporize every Israeli.”

Pirro said a process is underway to determine whether Rodriguez will be sentenced to death.

“This is a weighty decision. It takes time. There will be a rigorous process,” Pirro said, adding that the final decision will be up to the attorney general.

“We are starting the process. We’ve made no decision yet,” she added.

Reid Davis, FBI special agent in charge of the Washington Field Office Criminal Division, said investigators have determined that Rodriguez likely acted alone and was motivated by “anti-Zionist and pro-Palestine ideology.”

Pirro tied the shooting to FBI data released this week that reported a record number of antisemitic incidents in the US in 2024.

“We’re going to look for these cases, we’re going to prosecute these cases to the full force of the law. It’s a problem and we’re not going to tolerate it. Antisemitism has historically been one of the biggest scabs in the world that keeps getting picked on,” she said. “I will go forward with every case with vengeance.”

Pirro added that she has been in touch with the parents of Lischinsky and Milgrim, a couple who were set to be engaged shortly before the shooting.

“These are people who are broken because of one man’s actions,” she said. “These are people who should have been in-laws, but because of one man’s action, they will never be able to celebrate a marriage or the grandchildren that would have resulted.”