It appears Elias Rodriguez, the individual suspected of fatally shooting two staffers at the Israeli Embassy last week, has become the pro-Hamas movement’s version of Luigi Mangione.
Since the shooting and Rodriguez’s arrest, pro-Hamas individuals have been calling for his release and praising the murder of the staffers.
The Tariq El-Tahrir Youth and Student Network, a radical anti-Zionist organization, published an open letter calling for the authorities to release Rodriguez, who confessed that he committed the shooting to show solidarity with the Palestinians. The letter, signed by several individuals and organizations, frames the murders as a justified act of political resistance, not terrorism. The author characterizes the act as a response to “twenty months of non-stop apocalyptic violence wrought by the zionist movement” and the failure of peaceful protest to weaken support for Israel.
The letter defends Rodriguez’s alleged act as a moral necessity, claiming that “resistance is when we put an end to what we don’t like” and that “such counter-violeence is legitimate. It is justice.” The group further asserted that the United States and its allies empower the supposed genocide in the Gaza Strip while criminalizing dissent globally. It refers to crackdowns on violent pro-Hamas protests, claiming it is the suppression of pro-Palestinian advocacy.
Escalate for Gaza! Bring the war home!
— Unity of Fields (@unityoffields) May 25, 2025
Globalize the intifada!
Free Elias Rodriguez! Free them all! pic.twitter.com/bONo90aOou
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The group further claims Rodriguez’s “act of resistance has put the law itself on trial” and that if the alleged shooter faces the death penalty, “they will have also killed a part of our movement, a part of us; that part that yearns for justice.” The letter concludes with a threat to Israel: “Accountability is coming, swift, unforgiving, and unrelenting.”
A Washington Free Beacon report details some of the entities that signed the letter.
Another signatory is the Liberation Caucus of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)—"Squad" members Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.), Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.), and Greg Casar (D., Texas) are members of DSA, the largest socialist group in the country. Franklin, who serves as treasurer of the Black Voters Matter Action PAC, a Democratic group that received $2.4 million from Soros and the Soros-funded Democracy PAC, signed the letter and promoted it on his Twitter page. So did the Brandeis Jewish Bund, a self-described "Anti-Zionist" group at Brandeis University, a school founded by Jewish Americans to address anti-Semitism in the American education system. Another signee, Bronx Anti War, was cofounded by Janet Goodman-Clarke, a member of the Soros-funded Jewish Voice for Peace.
While many of the groups backing Rodriguez are not well known beyond radical activist circles, their ties to prominent Democratic lawmakers, donors, and organizations reflect the extent to which anti-Semitism has infiltrated the party. Ocasio-Cortez, for example, held a virtual event with DSA’s New York chapter in December. She has not addressed the Liberation Caucus's signing of the pro-Rodriguez letter.
Some signatories have links to Palestinian terrorist groups.
The leader of Nidal Seattle, another signatory, is a member of Samidoun, an anti-Israel group that the United States and Canada designated as a terrorist group last year because of its ties to Hamas. Bissan Barghouti, the Nidal Seattle leader, is also a former official with the Washington chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, one of the largest liberal activist groups in the country, according to its annual reports.
Defend the life of Elias Rodriguez, who committed an act of desperation, driven by despair over the genocide of the Palestinians. The capitalist state will try to make an example of him, just like Luigi, while financing the Zionist state’s genocide on Gaza. Trotsky on Grynszpan: https://t.co/OM1ssgZYec pic.twitter.com/Fewp6s7juf
— Adriana ☭⁴ 🇵🇸 (@Bolschewik1917) May 28, 2025
The fact that Rodriguez has a fan club is disturbing, but not surprising. There has been a troubling increase in antisemitism in America that started after the war in Gaza kicked off in October 2023. It is not even surprising that someone like Rodriguez would allegedly resort to murder. In fact, it is more shocking that it did not happen sooner, given how the pro-Hamas movement is inciting violence and hatred.
But now that it has happened, and there is this outpouring of support for Rodriguez, there is a more frightening reality: This could spark more acts of violence against Jewish people and those who support Israel. There is a distinct possibility that others like Rodriguez might be inspired to commit the same act, which could result in even more acts of terrorism.
In this case, the risk might not come primarily from foreign terrorists who enter the country. Instead, it seems more likely that it could become a homegrown phenomenon, with American citizens becoming radicalized.
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