Update: As Bob Hoge covered at our sister site of RedState, the suspect, Elias Rodriguez could face the death penalty. Hoge also shared posts about a press release from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro.
According to Fox 5 News, more charges could come. "Additional charges are likely, prosecutors said Thursday, as authorities continue to investigate the killings as both a hate crime against the Jewish community and terrorism," the local news report mentioned.
Our community is reeling. Because of one person’s actions, two families are left to grieve for dreams that will never be realized. Violence of any kind is unacceptable. Senseless acts that take innocent lives are intolerable. We will hold accountable anyone who inflicts harm on… https://t.co/iX309CWdQe
— US Attorney Pirro (@USAttyPirro) May 22, 2025
Original: On Wednesday night, two young staffers from the Israeli embassy were murdered after attending an event at the Capital Jewish Museum. A suspect, Elias Rodriguez, was heard yelling "Free Palestine" and also had a keffiyeh. He was arrested at the scene and on Thursday afternoon was charged with five counts, including murder.
According to The Hill, which referenced the criminal complain against Rodriguez, noted that the suspect "faces five charges, including two counts of first-degree murder, causing the death of a person through the use of a firearm and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence."
Details from the complaint have also circulated on X, with Marina Medvin highlighting how Rodriguez, who is from Chicago, has been charged at both the federal level and by Washington, D.C. According to the affidavit, Rodriguez conferred, saying that "I did it," with the motive of "for Palestine" and "for Gaza" provided. Such details are consistent with him yelling "Free Palestine" on Wednesday night.
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More details from the complaint against Rodriguez as highlighted by Medvin share the chilling account of how he fired several times, including as one of the victims, Sarah Milgrim, "attempted to crawl away" and when she "sat up."
Federal and local DC charges against Elias Rodriguez have been filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia for the murder of American Sarah Milgrim and Israeli Yaron Lischinsky.
— Marina Medvin 🇺🇸 (@MarinaMedvin) May 22, 2025
Federal:
- Murder of Foreign Officials
- Causing the Death of a Person Through the… pic.twitter.com/QGwPYkVJvT
The newly filed charges filed against Elias Rodriguez expose the depravity and callousness of the murders. He didn't just kill Sarah and Yaron- he made sure to finish them.
— Marina Medvin 🇺🇸 (@MarinaMedvin) May 22, 2025
He followed Sarah as she crawled away in agony after he shot her. He followed her and shot her again. He… pic.twitter.com/T2gjBzlmKR
Milgrim and the other victim, Yaron Lischinsky, were planning on getting engaged, with Lischinsky having just bought a ring and getting ready to propose when they were set to travel to Israel so that Milgrim could meet his family.
The details of the event that Milgrim and Lischinsky were event makes their death not only tragic, but also painfully ironic. As Matt highlighted earlier, The New York Post spoke to Robert Milgrim, Sarah's father, who shared that his daughter was working to increase aid to the Gaza region.
JewishInsider also spoke more to the event that Milgrim and Lischinsky attended on Wednesday night, with their Thursday morning newsletter headline dedicated to discussing the young couple, "Two lives, one future — killed by terror in D.C."
A witness at the event, Jonathan Epstein, who bravely held his ground reminding CNN anchor Sarah Sidner that pro-Hamas students on college campuses, including and especially at Columbia University, where he attended graduate school, also spoke about Rodriguez and the irony involved.
"He whipped out a keffiyeh--actually, a Jordanian keffiyeh, ironically--and then was cuffed," Epstein said to describe the accused.
It was an evening dedicated to humanitarian service — young Jewish professionals gathering under the theme “Turning Pain Into Purpose,” discussing interfaith collaboration and working to counter the rising tide of “us versus them” narratives. The event spotlighted efforts to…
— Jewish Insider (@J_Insider) May 22, 2025
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