The individual accused of fatally shooting two staffers at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC, is facing hate crime charges, along with several others.
The Justice Department announced in a Thursday press release that a federal grand jury “returned an indictment yesterday charging Elias Rodriguez with murder of a foreign official, hate crimes, firearms offenses, first-degree murder, and assault with intent to kill.”
The shooting occurred when the two victims were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum (CJM).
According to the indictment, on May 21, Rodriguez purchased a ticket to the American Jewish Committee (AJC)’s Young Diplomats Reception being hosted at CJM. Yaron Lischinsky, Sarah Milgrim, C.S., and A.T. were employees of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. who attended the reception. After purchasing the ticket, Rodriguez reviewed information about AJC, which indicated AJC’s support for Israel. After Lischinsky, Milgrim, C.S., and A.T. walked out of the reception, Rodriguez approached them and fired approximately 20 shots. Rodriguez shot Lischinsky and Milgrim multiple times, killing them. C.S. and A.T. escaped uninjured. Rodriguez approached a police officer, said “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza,” and was arrested. Rodriguez’s previously scheduled “explication” was then posted to his X account; in it, Rodriguez advocated for violence against Israelis.
US Attorney Jeanine Pirro for the District of Columbia vowed that her office “will leave no stone unturned in its effort to bring justice to the innocent victims of Elias Rodriguez.”
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon declared that the Justice Department “will not tolerate violence motivated by hatred of faith or national origin.”
During a press conference on Thursday, Pirro affirmed that her office will aggressively prosecute those who target Jewish Americans.
“We have a problem with anti-Semitism in this country, and the statistics bear that out,” she said. “I think now more than ever, we are seeing increased numbers.”
“We're going to be very aggressive. You heard from the FBI, the MPD, we're going to look for these cases. We're going to prosecute these cases to the full force of the law,” Pirro continued. “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 and picked at. So, from my perspective, I will go forward with every case with vengeance.”
New reporting from the FBI revealed that anti-Jewish hate crimes made up nearly 70% of all religion-based hate crimes in 2024.
— ABC News (@ABC) August 7, 2025
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said that she will be "very aggressive" in prosecuting these cases.https://t.co/t3gZCR98JR pic.twitter.com/BMxG4QAKRj
The charges were first announced back in May. Reports suggested that more charges against Rodriguez could be coming. He could face the death penalty if convicted.
The defendant was a Chicago resident who graduated with an English degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2018. He held multiple professional roles before allegedly carrying out the shooting. He was previously affiliated with the Party for Socialism and Liberation and the ANSWER Coalition.
His social media posts revealed strong support for Hamas and other anti-Israel terrorist groups. He wrote a manifesto in which he called for more violent action against Jewish people.
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