U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro announced Friday that her office is pursuing the death penalty for the man accused of fatally shooting two Israeli Embassy staffers outside the Capital Jewish Museum last year.
Elias Rodriguez was indicted on federal counts, including multiple terrorism-related offenses, in the death of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim. Several of the charges filed against him carry a maximum penalty of death or life imprisonment.
Mr. Rodriguez was previously charged with the murder of a foreign official, firearm-related charges, two federal counts of hate crime resulting in death, and two counts each of first-degree premeditated murder while armed and assault with intent to kill while armed.
To secure the death penalty, federal prosecutors must prove that Mr. Rodriguez specifically targeted the young couple at the Capital Jewish Museum because they were Jewish and Israeli. Milgrim was a U.S. citizen, and Lischinsky was an Israeli citizen working in the U.S.
“My message to anyone who seeks to commit political violence in this district: D.C. is not the place. You will be held accountable, and you will face the full wrath of the law,” Ms. Pirro said at a news conference Friday.
Mr. Rodriguez flew from Chicago to the Washington region with a handgun in his checked luggage and specifically reviewed information about the American Jewish Committee’s support for Israel.
Witness and surveillance accounts indicate that after pacing outside, Mr. Rodriguez approached a group of four people, opened fire and shot the victims at close range as they fell to the ground, according to authorities.
Mr. Rodriguez had allegedly approached the victims as they left a “Young Diplomats Reception” at the museum and fired from a semiautomatic handgun, according to the indictment.
He called out “free Palestine,” then said, “I did it for Palestine. I did it for Gaza.”
Upon being removed from the museum, he said, “Shame on you” and “Shame on Zio-nazi terror.”
Prosecutors said he was “motivated by political, ideological, national, and religious bias, contempt, and hatred,” according to Friday’s court filing.
He “targeted individuals whom he perceived to have attended an event for young Jewish professionals, organized by the American Jewish Committee and hosted at the Capital Jewish Museum, to amplify the effect of his crimes,” they wrote.
Mr. Rodriguez’s next court appearance is set for June 30, but a trial date has not been scheduled.
